Red Wine Glasses, Bar Glasses, Champagne Glasses

Crystal Glasses Wine Stemware

lead free crystal stemware

Lead-Free versus Leaded Crystal, Can Someone Please Explain...

Okay, here goes. First, a refresher course on the basics. Lead glass is basically potassium silicate glass with lead added to it. Why add lead to crystal glasses for wine in the first place? Well remember those old picture tube TV's? These are made of lead glass. The lead inside the glass acts as a blocker or "refractor" of the harmful x-rays emanating from behind the glass. The lead is actually increasing what is called the glass's refractive index. By adding lead oxide to crystal glasses for wine intended for stemware it is also increasing the glasses refractive index, thereby producing more luster or sparkle. The downside is that lately there have been landfill problems from the harmful lead in many tossed-out old picture tube TV's due to the popularity of flat screens.

It has only been in the last two decades that people are becoming privy to the lead content in their drinking glasses. Studies have shown there to be the "leaching" of lead into wine that has been left in a lead glass decanter for too long. People are simply not chancing it any longer. Proof lies in the state of California's Proposition 65. California retailers now have to clearly state the lead content in any wine glasses sold in order to uphold the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

Lead crystal is lead glass that has been cut, either by machine or by hand. The word "crystal" is the ancient Greek word for ice, which they probably associated with natural quartz crystal clusters that sort of resemble ice. Picture a pencil growing out of the ground with its faceted sides. If you can picture the classic Waterford crystal glass, you'll know what we mean by facets or cuts. Again, historically speaking, lead added to glass that was cut in facets would have intensified the refractive index of the glass due to the effect of light on the angles of the facets.

So, why is the word "crystal" used synonymously with Riedel, Spiegelau and most wine glasses that appear to be smooth walled? It is simply an industry accepted terminology for fine stemware. We refer to our stemware as crystal but choose to not add lead because of the health reasons and, with the latest technology, we can produce a high-quality, sparkling piece of stemware without the addition of lead. Further, most crystal (whether lead-free or not) is made to be more porous and therefore able to bring out more of the wines aroma due to higher friction between the wine and the glass when swirled.