[ PORTRAIT ]
CEO of the Riedel wine glass company // Austria

_
Talk with Maximilian Riedel
"I want to connect the past, present and future."
Maximilian Riedel is the vibrant heir of the revered namesake company founded in 1756 who is safeguarding its identity whilst modernising its image. AKA @maxiriedel on social media and inventor of the ‘Sunday Wine Fun Day’, he has almost 600,000 followers on Instagram and his posts are viewed by millions. He took a break from his travels and making fun-filled videos to meet us in Paris and share his passion and pleasures.


You are the eleventh-generation incumbent to helm Riedel. What does that imply on a day-to-day basis?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
It’s a huge responsibility. Ten people before me did a fantastic job. If I fail, I let them all down. But it’s also a huge advantage. My ancestors built something that I have been allowed to take over. I realised just how much this history mattered when I lived in America for over ten years. There, people want stories. When they discovered my family history, they were astounded… and bought my glasses. My father never did any storytelling. He was born after the war and had a different mindset, one focused on the future. Personally, I want to connect the past, present and future. I have recruited historians to put together the pieces of the puzzle and I have created a museum.

Your connection with wine goes back to your childhood. Do you have any particular memories?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
At home, there’d be something happening every evening – dinners with winegrowers, journalists, sometimes a chef. I was tasked with opening the bottles, decanting them, smelling them and listening. My palate was educated from a very early age. My father spent his childhood in Italy after the untimely passing of his mother. There, at birthday parties, it was traditional to serve a little Moscato d’Asti to children. My sister and I were allowed to have a sip. The fruitiness, the sweetness and the bubbles left a lasting impression on me.

What was your first major encounter with red wine?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
It’s not a taste but an atmosphere. My father was staging a ceremonial presentation of fine wine – Château Margaux, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Petrus… The silence in the room, the polished glasses, the sound of the cork, were all fascinating to me. This is what I want to pass on to others.

You reach out to over 40 million people a month on Instagram. What drives you?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
Wine is a lifestyle. I want to show it in every kind of situation, from a snowboard in winter to swimwear in the summer. This is my way of overcoming the limitations imposed on wine communications. Many countries have a ban on alcohol advertising, but not on sharing a way of life. Through my posts, I try and educate people, appeal to them and pass on my knowledge to them by showing that wine is so much more than a drink with a price tag – it is about culture, occasion and emotion. And my glasses are a part of that occasion.

Wine is about culture, occasion and emotion. And my glasses are a part of that occasion.


Do you reply to everyone?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
Yes, all the responses are entirely my own. I receive messages on Instagram, WhatsApp, by email... People write to me for recommendations on wine or restaurant bookings. I answer all of them. Some people send me photos of their glasses and their occasions. It’s become a real community.

How you handle sustainability at Riedel?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
Firstly, I promote the craftsmanship at Riedel – the qualified glassmakers who make glasses entirely by hand at our Kufstein facilities. This is Riedel’s ‘haute couture’. Producing locally, using recyclable glass and keeping distances short are all part of how we operate. Even the packaging has been redesigned. Nowadays, you cannot operate a business if you don’t comply with strict rules. In Austria, the authorities conduct unannounced inspections, check the materials and impose standards. This is part of our daily routine and that’s seems fair to me. Being modern also implies being responsible.

Why did you develop a specific range for the hospitality industry?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
In 2001, Daniel Boulud told me he would love to have my glasses in his 3-star restaurant in New York City but that he couldn’t because of the breakages. So I created a specific collection that is more robust with a shorter stem – Riedel Restaurant. What’s funny is that now we are going backwards slightly. Due to new technologies, the top restaurateurs use very fine glasses because they know how to look after them.

You also work with very distinguished companies. Which experience was the most memorable for you?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
The Dom Pérignon project was extraordinary. Richard Geoffroy (Ed. the former cellar master) asked me to design a glass for rosé. We hosted an initial flight of tastings based on a number of vintages so that we could understand the character of the wines. The way he spoke about them, his sensitivity and his precision taught me so much. A few years later, Vincent Chaperon (Ed. Richard Geoffroy’s successor) contacted me again. This time, he wanted us to create a single glass for the entire range – rosé, white, Plénitude… This was an exciting challenge and involved several blind tastings with some of the world’s finest Champagnes. The result was a conceptual, versatile glass which enhances every wine. I am proud of our achievement and I’m also proud to see personalities like Lenny Kravitz now singing its praises. All of them have put their lips to my glass.

How is a new glass born at Riedel?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
It all starts with a request – for a varietal, a market or a need. We organise a workshop, taste blind and rule out options. Recently we worked on Chenin blanc. I received several styles, tasted the wines myself then hosted a blind tasting with the producers. What I found fascinating was that they don’t even recognise their own wines in some glasses, but they do in others. Ultimately, the glass selected was not even a specific model – it was our Champagne glass, which is the most suitable for all styles. That was a memorable moment.


Producers don’t even recognise their own wines in some glasses!

Have you ever contemplated developing projects other than for glassware?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
Yes, there was a dream once. My father bought some land in the Maremma, Tuscany and intended to plant some Cabernet Franc, his favourite grape variety. He visited the property with Angelo Gaja (Ed. the Piedmont winegrower) and James Suckling (Ed. the American wine critic). It was all ready to go, but the Italian authorities would not allow it. They said, “It’s Sangiovese or nothing”. We still own the land, but with no vines on it.

How important are wine cabinets to you?
MAXIMILIAN RIEDEL
When I lived in America, I had six EuroCave cabinets in my office! Even now, in my company, I use them to store wines for tasting. I like their reliability, their adjustable temperatures and humidity levels. They are an essential part of my job.
Article - Stéphane Méjanès
A former sports journalist, Stéphane Méjanès has covered every aspect of gourmet cuisine since 2012 for a range of magazines and websites. He is the author of a booklet on gourmet food reviews titled ‘Tailler une Plume’ (Éditions de l’Épure, 2019) as well as several chef’s books. He is also a lecturer at ESTHUA in Angers where he teaches Master’s Degree students on gourmet food reviews. Along with Guillaume Gomez and Tiptoque, he launched the ‘Chefs with Caregivers’ movement which earned him the 2021 La Liste Community Spirit Award. On a personal basis, he was awarded the Plume d’Or accolade for writing in 2019 and the Amunategui-Curnonsky Award in 2018.
Prolong the experience
Discover the profiles of creative and influential personalities explaining their relationship with wine, the secrets of sommeliers or legendary establishments.
When you subscribe to the magazine, your email address is only used to send you our content newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in each newsletter. To find out more about management of your data and your rights, click here .