
Hélicium glassware.
A revolutionary wine glass emerges from a year of financial struggle.
The creator of a range of award-winning, innovative wine glasses said to have an extraordinary effect on a wine’s bouquet, has finally found a financial backer – a year after the products were launched
Arnaud Baratte, for 15 years a specialist in tableware based in Palleville in the Tarn, launched a series of four glasses under the brand name Hélicium, selling 50,000 of them in specialized shops and restaurants in 12 months. But he has had financial problems.
“I almost gave up this summer, because of my debts,” says the graduate of Bordeaux’s School of Oenology, who admits to being fascinated by glassware design.
After six years of working for the multinational glass company Arc International (formerly Cristallerie d’Arques), Baratte came up with his own invention for heightening the taste of wine.
Inspired by the mechanics of wind turbines, he developed a glass with three vertical ribs, 1 to 2 millimeters deep, set around the interior of the glass. When the glass is turned, the ribs accelerate the release of the wine’s bouquet, enhancing the taste threefold, says Baratte.
The range comprises two wine glasses, a Champagne flute, and a tumbler for spirits or fruit juices, ranging in price from 18.5 to 22.5 euros ($24–$26).
The innovation, patented in 60 countries in 2009–2010, received the… read on
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