Discover Zalto
The Ultimate Vessel for the Vine
To hold a Zalto glass is to change your relationship with wine forever. Feather-light and balanced with mathematical precision, the Denk'Art collection is designed not just to hold wine, but to liberate its bouquet and flavor. Discover the glass that sommeliers and enthusiasts worldwide call the "perfect vessel"—where the boundary between the wine and the taster virtually disappears.
Handcrafted
This is often the safest way to avoid breakage, as it eliminates the need for manual polishing. To prevent glass corrosion or clouding, use a gentle glass program (max. 50 °C / 122 °F) and monitor water hardness. Ensure sufficient spacing, and avoid contact with metal.
Mouthblown
While chemically gentler, hand washing requires a careful touch. To prevent snapping the delicate stem, never hold the glass by its base or stem alone. Instead, cradle the bowl gently in your palm, allowing the stem to rest securely between your index and middle fingers.
Artisanal
For a flawless finish, polish your handcrafted Zalto glasses with a clean, soft microfiber cloth that has been washed at a minimum of 75°C (167°F) using unscented soap. Avoid fabric softeners and grease.
A new millennium, a new world of glasses
After nearly 200 years of perfectioning the glass-blowing techniques in the quiet, Zalto reaches its historical peak in 2006 with the presentation of the current collection Denk’Art. In the beginning of the new millennium Zalto wanted to invent something extraordinary, something new, something the world never had seen before. Zalto developed the collection in the years from 2001 to 2004 in close cooperation with the Austrian priest and wine expert Hans Denk.
Alongside his work as a priest Hans Denk has for over 30 years studied and tasted wines, and he is known as one of the most inspirational and valued wine experts in the world. Together with the best wine farmers in Austria, Denk was one of the main architects behind the new Zalto collection. Denk instructed the glassmakers in the creation of each bowl to evoke all the proper qualities in the glass suitable for the type of wine, the glass is made for.
The Art of Handcrafted Perfection
Handcrafted perfection is the core principle of Zalto. Our glasses are forged from carefully selected raw materials using complex, traditional methods that demand unparalleled skill from the glassblower.
This manual artistry evokes the virtuosity of Renaissance-era Venetian glass masters, pushing the boundaries of balance and weight to their extremes. By combining modern raw material technology with centuries-old production methods, we achieve a level of refinement that machine-made glasses simply cannot match. Beyond the sheer fascination of the craft, this mouth-blown process ensures a superior sensory experience that remains the hallmark of every Zalto glass.
The human touch in every Zalto glass
At Zalto, the human component is our most vital asset. Every glass is born from the coordinated efforts of a specialized eight-person team, using only the simplest tools to achieve extraordinary results. While the bowl is gently blown into a mold, every other element is crafted free-hand, guided entirely by the master glassmaker's trained eye.
This level of execution is reserved for the world’s finest artisans, requiring years of rigorous training to master the delicate, thin-walled production of lead-free crystal. A purposefully slow cooling phase follows the glassblowing, granting the crystal its surprising elasticity and strength. This intensive process concludes with a meticulous final inspection; only masterpieces that meet our exacting standards receive the Zalto logo, while all others are melted down and recycled.
Engineered for the Palate
Beyond the artistry, the mouth-blown process serves a functional purpose. Handcrafted bowls possess a microscopically unique surface structure that creates a larger surface area than machine-made glass, allowing the wine to express itself more fully.
Unlike a mechanical watch—where complexity is the art—the beauty of a Zalto glass lies in its seamless, joint-free design. By removing every distraction, we ensure that the focus remains entirely on the wine, allowing the glass to become a transparent bridge between the vintage and the taster.
The Zalto Denk'Art collection has taken the world with admiration and surprise
Not only praised and adored by wine experts around the world, Zalto won in 2009 one the most comprehensive and independent glass tests of the world's finest wine glassware. Stern magazine of Germany organized this testing by inviting all of the most important and influencing glassware producers in the world to nominate their finest glasses, and furthermore they joined the professional judging jury. Moreover a panel of the finest wine sommeliers and wine loving non-professionals were a part of the jury. Blindfolded and equipped with gloves the jury tasted 3 wines out of 10 different glasses. The result was definitely the true breakthrough for Zalto: Zalto won in all 3 categories: "Riesling" where Zalto White Wine Glass won, "Burgundy" where Zalto Burgundy Glass won, and "Bordeaux" where Zalto Bordeaux Glass won. A huge achievement for Zalto that since the very creation of the Zalto glasses strived for one thing: To be the best wine glass in the world.
