Road warrior

Maximilian Riedel, 29, CEO of Riedel Crystal America

By Eugenia Levenson, Fortune reporter

(Fortune Magazine) -- Eleventh-generation glassmaker Maximilian Riedel may have an antique pedigree, but he is a thoroughly modern man. Two years ago he created a sensation with his stemless "O" series glasses - a 21st-century take on wine tumblers that were a hit with hip oenophiles. Now in charge of Riedel's North American operations (he reports to dad Georg in Austria), his latest gambit is the new "O" martini glass. But don't ask Riedel if he likes his shaken or stirred: "My heart beats for wine," he says. We caught up with Riedel at the terroir known as Edison, N.J.

  • DAYS ON THE ROAD Up to 100.
  • FAVORITE WAY TO FLY In the U.S., Continental. They re on time, the planes are clean, and the food is somewhat edible. For international flights, Lufthansa.
  • LEADING AIRPORT LOUNGE Lufthansa's HON Circle Lounge in Frankfurt is the best in the world. There's a knowledgeable staff, a huge wine list, fantastic gourmet food - and they'll bring you to the plane in a Porsche Cayenne.
  • IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT If it's a long flight, I'll bring my PlayStation Portable. I mostly like car-racing games, like the German game DTM Race Driver 2006.
  • CARRY-ON MUST One of my "O" Spirit all-purpose tasting glasses. I like to drink a glass of wine on the plane, but the stemware is pretty bad.
  • TOP WINE LIST IN THE SKY Air France, British Airways (Charts), and Lufthansa (Charts) have full wine lists put together by sommeliers. It's like a high-end restaurant, but you're allowed to fall asleep.
  • BEST CELLARS Per Se in New York. Also Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, French Laundry in Napa, and the French Room at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas.
  • GREATEST GRAPE Pinot noir: Ponzi from Oregon and Kistler Cuvee Catherine from Sonoma.
  • BAR NONE My favorite bar is Bar Hemingway at the Ritz in Paris. You don't need a hip crowd. You can just relax and have a bottle of champagne with friends.
  •  Top of page
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.