Riedel Amadeo Lyra Decanter

Creating a Masterpiece

The highlight of the Limited Edition Riedel Amadeo Collection, created to celebrate the glass company's 250th anniversary, is their Lyra decanter. The completely handmade and hand-blown 24-percent lead crystal work of art shaped like a lyre combines both the practical and the pretty.

The decanter's name and its shape have musical roots. Riedel named their latest line of products, which includes stemless Cabernet and Chardonnay wine glasses, after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Like Riedel, the composer was also born 250 years ago in Austria, and his work is still being enjoyed today.

While in use, the Amadeo Lyra helps aerate and open up wines so that they show their aromas and flavors. The wine is poured from the bottle into the wider opening, then poured into the glass through the narrow opening. While on display, it is a fine example of skillfully blown glass. Because of its unique shape, no two Lyra decanters look exactly alike.

Reviewed by Jeff Hoyt

Price: Around $240 on Amazon

Making a Lyra Decanter

• Gathering the post, or molten glass	• Preparing the post on the Wulgaplate, which cools the molten glass

• The post beginning to be blown	• Extracting the glaslot

• Retightening the glaslot	• Bending to the basic form

• Burnishing the cut surface with the cork gap	• Hot air dehydration after washing

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