Chances are, if you've read even one of my blogs, you know that I'm hot for Lenox Tuscany Classics Stemware. The Tuscany collection is great because it's elegant, luminous and affordable, and all in full lead crystal. But just like everything else in this cruel, competitive world, there are hierarchies of desirability, and crystal stemware is no exception. Lenox Tuscany, like many lines of affordable stemware (e.g. Waterford Vintage) are machine made. Nothing wrong with that, except of course that there's something better, right? Hand-made stemware is the connoisseur's next step up and boasts various advantages—and always a higher price tag—over machine made crystal like Tuscany. As a crazed collector of crystal, I've been looking around for a "next level" line of crystal stemware, something a tad more upscale than Tuscany, which will serve as the crown jewel of my stemware collection—you know, the "good crystal." And after a nearly year-long search, I have found it among Riedel's Spring 2007 introductions.

The Stemware of Grandmother Kane's Dreams

At this point you may be thinking that I've finally gone around the bend. It's enough that Sarah's a compulsive collector of this Tuscany business, but that's not good enough? Now she needs something more expensive? Lest you think that I have descended into snobbery for snobbery's sake, let me explain some of the advantages of hand-made crystal stemware. At this point, it may be helpful to turn to our good friend Waterford, who has made a name by offering the finest in hand-cut crystal throughout the ages. Cut crystal can be faked with machine molds, of course, but in order to get that truly eye-catching, light-catching cut crystal, there is simply no substitute for hand-cutting. Much of Waterford's stemware has traditionally be cut crystal—and after Irish artisans toil away at your glass and Waterford sends it across the pond, it's beautiful and damned expensive. My grandmother (she from whence Saundra came) was an avid collector of hand-made Waterford cut crystal, and managed to accrue a vast collection of Tramore in her lifetime, including water goblets, claret wine glasses, cordials, and tall sherbets—just to name a few.

Ballet Ribbon Cut Crystal

Luckily for my pocketbook, grandmother's Tramore isn't quite my style. In fact, the thing that consistently boggles me about Waterford cut crystal is that so much of it looks almost exactly same. Either way, as pretty as the Tramore is for my grandmother's or for Saundra's table, I wanted something more modern. Never last to the party of crystal stemware, Waterford does offer more modern cut crystal patterns, including Ballet Ribbon cut crystal designed specifically to go with my china pattern. It's fine, but cut crystal in general doesn't thrill me, and if I'm going to be sinking a lot of money into an upscale crystal pattern—or asking gift-buyers to do it for me—I am much more interested in the current trend of varietal-specific stemware. Never fear, Waterford has a solution! Their Connoisseur Gold offers the pinnacle in varietal-specific stemware—mouth-blown crystal and hand-pulled stems.

Connoisseur Gold

Two problems though—maybe I'm not enough of a stemware snob, but I fail to see any concrete advantage of mouth-blown crystal; and beyond that, I simply don't like the fact that there's a gold band at the base of the stem. My china pattern is plantinum-banded. I don't even wear gold jewelry. And at $65 a glass... sorry Waterford, you've otherwise treated me well but I must go elsewhere for my fancy schmancy stemware.

I've been sufficiently occupied on the crystal front with the collection of Lenox Tuscany that I truly haven't been investing much effort into the search for a more upscale stemware pattern. On a practical level, the Lenox more than fulfills my everyday needs, and an upscale pattern is quite truly a vanity selection more than anything. But there is one thing that continued to bother me about the Lenox Tuscany and other machine made crystal—stem seams. Run your fingers down the stem of a Lenox Tuscany, Riedel Wine or Waterford Mondavi glass, and you'll feel seams. This is a result of the fact that the stems are made in a machine mold, just as the bowls of the glasses are blown by machine into a mold. The mold for the bowls, at least, gives a seamless glass surface with no noticeable disadvantage to the mouth-blown, but the stems are a different story. Only hand-pulled stems are perfectly smooth all around.

Riedel Vitis Pinot Noir

And THAT was when I found them. Browsing the Riedel website last month, I happened upon one of their new stemware lines for this Spring: Riedel Vitis. It has everything I'm looking for: lead crystal, varietal-specific bowls, an ultra chic modern design, and best of all hand-pulled stems! The fact that the bowls are machine made keeps the glasses from being absurdly expensive. I picked up a pair of the Vitis Pinot Noir glasses from WineEnthusiast.com for $56, but they're coming to Amazon soon, and I've already added them to my Amazon registry. I've been so excited about my Vitis, that I've already used them twice for small dinner parties, including a wine-tasting dinner where I served three red varietals, matching each course to suit each wine. To start off the evening, I served a Talus Pinot Noir in my Riedel Vitis, and it went wonderfully with my very favorite cheese spread (see recipe below). A word of warning about the Riedel Vitis, though, after having tried them out a few times—they are really huge. Filling up two glasses to the curve of the bowl took half the bottle. A second pour and the bottle was done. Not really something to complain about, just something to watch out for if you're hoping to split a bottle of wine among more than four Vitis glasses. I've had such a good time with my first pair of Vitis glasses, that I'm sorely tempted to order a Cabernet pair. I'll reserve my decision until after my scheduled visit to—I'm in big trouble now—the Lenox Warehouse Factory Outlet.

The Best Cheese Spread Ever

Here's my favorite cheese spread recipe. Since this is the first recipe I'm posting here on my blog, a brief heads-up: I don't cook with exact measurements unless proportions are essential for getting the desired effect (i.e. if the soufflé is a threat to fall, I'll pay attention to measurements). One should always feel free to adjust ingredients to taste, and I will often make loose suggestions to this effect. Likewise with this recipe:

cream cheese (a standard 8 oz. package will serve)
one wedge or small wheel of brie
crumbled gorgonzola (or blue cheese, if you prefer)
swiss cheese
sour cream (no more than a couple tablespoons)
pecans

Combine all the cheeses and the sour cream in a large food processor. The 8 oz package of cream cheese serves fundamentally as the base (think, the "glue" of the recipe), so if you're making for a large group, feel free to double or triple and adjust the other ingredients accordingly. The size of your brie wedge ought to depend on how much you like brie (or how much you can afford to spend), and the great thing about this recipe is that you can just toss the whole thing into the food processor, rind and all. Gorgonzola is one of my favorite cheeses, so I put a lot in, but it's a strong cheese, so use sparingly if you want a more subtle flavor. The swiss is another "background" cheese; the last time I made this recipe I used about three deli sandwich slices. The sour cream is for moistness, so don't add too much or else this recipe will turn into a dip, not a spread. The pecans are for garnish, so while your cheeses are getting whipped all nice and smooth in the food processor, chop up your pecans on a cutting board. Once the cheese is smooth, empty it into the dish(s) in which you intend to serve it and sprinkle your chopped pecans on top. Chill the spread an hour or more in the fridge and serve with crackers and/or fruit.