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Titanium wine glasses
worth the cost

Wine drinkers can be particular about the glasses they use, some going so far to take their own stemware to restaurants and parties.

Good stemware can enhance the wine experience, amplifying the wine's appearance, aromatics and taste. It also can affect the drinker's mood and anticipation.

I've drunk wine from all sorts of vessels -- paper cups, plastic cups, tea cups, water glasses, bowls (don't ask), chalices, bottles, bad stemware, good stemware -- just about anything. I've even licked it off of fingers (again, don't ask). As you can tell, I'm not the most discriminating, but I admit that there is nothing like drinking out of fine stemware.

Lead crystal stemware is considered by most connoisseurs as the classiest and most appropriate stemware on the market. Popular brands such Riedel and Spiegelau are a couple of the standard-bearers and make mighty fine crystal glasses.

But every once in a while in any business, technology or innovation can bring about a quantum leap in quality or price. The quantum leap for wine glasses comes in the form of stemware made not of lead crystal, but titanium crystal.

Titanium is prized for its lightweight strength and corrosion-resistance. On top of that, it is physiologically inert so it won't taint the wine. Titanium has been used in all sorts of applications: bicycle frames, laptop encasings, golf clubs, even jewelry.

The Tritan line of wine glasses by Schott Zwiesel of Germany, made of titanium, is dishwasher-safe, scratch-, chip- and stain-resistant -- all an improvement over lead crystal.

The stemware is not unbreakable, but on the company's Web site you can see videos of the glasses being abused without damage. Really cool!

Tritan glasses will run you $39.99 per stem for the premier line, called Enoteca. Less expensive lines go for $13.99 and $19.99 per stem. Each line includes glasses designed for different types of wines (cabernet, chardonnay, champagne ...).

When you consider the whole package -- style, elegance, quality, durability, price and functionality -- titanium stemware is a major breakthrough. Upgrade your wine experience by getting some good stemware. You will be surprised by the results.

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