March 28th, 2024

We once wrote about using a dishwasher to clean wine glasses, and you still can, if you use the right additives. However, if you are using many glasses to set up numerous tasting flights for people, you might want to consider a capable dishwasher with a little more oomph.

If you run a restaurant or wine bar, you are already familiar with high-capacity dishwashers that are made for larger volumes and loads. But how many of these can do a load of 32 wine glasses spot and residue free, in 8 minutes?  And all of this without having to use a water softener or grocery store additives?

Out of the Dishwasher and Onto the Table

This month, Miele Professional announced a new product line that does all these things, even in a private home. They call it the “MasterLine” and it’s designed to blast a load of glasses in and out in about 8 minutes.  In fact, they have special racks for wine glasses, even with delicate stems!

So, if you have a lot of people over and entertain them with wine, you can keep the glasses flowing right along.  Just drop them in the dishwasher and pick them out of the rack a short time later.  They have even figured out how to cool the glass down so they can be touched right after the door opens.

All done with the wine tasting flight?  Just exchange the glasses, load the used ones in, start it up, and re-join the party.  Of course, if you are using a caterer, they can keep things running in the kitchen without having to hang around cleaning up for hours afterward.  Consider the possibilities.  Washing dishes doesn’t have to be such a bottleneck when entertaining.

As for spots and weird odors, this dishwasher uses a self-contained water softener with automatically dispensed additives.  These neutralize those nasty things in hard tap water that can be a total distraction to the taste of a fine wine.  Also, because there is no towel drying necessary (the glasses are properly angled in the rack), you won’t have to smell that either!

Just add their recommended supply of additives from time to time to keep things running.  Miele offers a variety of canisters to hold these, keeping maintenance to a minimum.  Plus, these dishwashers are rated to run the kind of hours that a restaurant logs (28,000-hour rating).  Consequently, there’s little need to worry about it being a maintenance problem.

When acquiring one of these be advised that they are a high-end product.  Prices hover around $6k.  This is probably not an issue for a fully equipped kitchen in a custom home or wine bar but keep it in mind.  It all depends on how you plan to spend your time as you experience the world of wine.

Installation uses 220 volts (like a dryer or water heater) and requires both a hot and cold-water hookup.  The rest is just like a consumer dishwasher, including the cabinet space required.  It also looks great installed in the cabinetry, just like you would expect in a fully equipped kitchen.

Be sure to test your settings with a set of relatively new, cheap clear water glasses first before exposing your good Riedel wine glasses for the first time.  Settle for nothing less than spotless, odorless wine glasses.

Enjoy your guests, your wine, and close the kitchen early!