Blog posts tagged with 'crystal stemware'

Being officially in the last quarter of the year, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the trends we've been seeing in the 2013 season and present some of my thoughts towards what we at National Event Supply see for the 2014 bar season

2013: The year of the variety, glassware & bottled cocktails

This year has brought about some exciting trends. We’ve seen a greater variety of beer being sampled with pale ales and lagers no longer being the staple beverage of choice – making way for wheat beers, fruit ales and much more. Along with the greater variety being sampled, we’ve seen a greater reliance on glassware. Beer glasses have seen a huge comeback-no longer can a beer be sampled in a singular glass but more and more bars/restaurants are taking a hint from European establishments and serving beer in properly branded and stylized beer glass.

On the cocktail front there’s been a trend towards making the traditional cocktails such as cosmopolitans, margaritas and mojitos, available in bottles for personal consumption instead of having to hit a bar to get a delectable drink in a 7oz martini glass.

2014: The year of sparkling bubbly, innovative cocktails and the continuance of craft beer

Over the course of 2013, there`s been a large amount of sparkling wines that have popped onto the beverage scene – perfect for our Serenity Crystal Champagne Flute. Locally produced sparkling wines seem to be popular as well and are taking the place of normal table wines, or its counterpart Champagne as a toasting beverage.

Innovative cocktails continue with dessert cocktails making their way to the scene. Without having to imbibe in their higher calorie counterparts, tasters can whet their sweet tooth with dessert cocktails such as Lemon Cream Pie Martini’s, Tiramisu cocktails or Strawberry shortcake.

Craft beers should continue to pick up steam with the “shop local” trend continuing to be a main food trend. With thousands of breweries across the country, and new brew master’s opening doors every day, this spells a plethora of different styles to sample. In Ontario, the LCBO does a great job of highlighting the different craft beers available for Ontarian’s – often showcasing different breweries across Canada both in-store, in advertising and in their fabulous Food & Drink magazine.

Got a trend you think will be big through the start or all of 2014? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re interested in receiving samples of our glassware, or want a quote on some of our glassware, contact us for more information.

Corporate holiday parties have been a source of networking and good employee morale for decades. With the downturn in the economy, it was thought that the corporate holiday party would meet its demise. Special event planners, party rental companies, caterers, restaurants, and hotel venues can breathe a sigh of relief-with BizBash and Seamless surveying more than 1,500 event professionals, it appears corporations still have reason to celebrate. With answers to burning questions such as when the parties are held, and where the food is from, check out this infographic on the BizBash site to get an idea of the event rental needs you should be stocking up on.

Source: BizBash

When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
Aristophanes c. 450 - 385 B.C., Knights [424 B.C.], l. 92.

Unfortunately, there’s no beaker of wine available at 9am on a Wednesday morning to help me say something clever, so I hope you don’t mind a lack of wit. If you’re thinking about adding wineglasses to your inventory it is important to think about how they will be used, whether they’ll be used for casual or formal events, and what is expected in red and white wine glasses.

White Wines, Red Wines, and Sparkling Wines

When you decide that you want to/need to start renting wine glasses, it’s important to budget for two different sizes of wine glasses. Smaller wine glasses are perfect for white wines as you don’t want the wine to warm up before it is drunk. Red wine glasses tend to be larger in size as the taste of red wine improves as it aerates.

If your rental customers are in the mood to celebrate, they may also be interested in Champagne Flutes. Champagne flutes are designed for sparkling wines or wines that are carbonated. Their shape keeps the wine bubbly longer, and improves the taste of the wine. If your customers are looking to celebrate their event with Champagne, they’re going to want a Champagne flute.

How Big of a Wine Glass do I Need?

The size of the wine glass required is dependent on the type of wine being served and the type of event the wine is being served at. As I mentioned earlier white wine glasses are typically smaller than red wine glasses, but the type of event can also make an impact on the size of wine glass that your customers may want. For instance, if you’re serving wine at a cocktail-type event, you’ll typically want a 4oz pour. If you’re serving wine during dinner, a 6oz pour is more desirable.

Wine should not be poured to the rim. Wine always tastes better when it has room to breathe. For a white wine, you want to fill the wine glass until it is 1/3 to 1/2 full. If you’re pouring 4-6oz of white wine in a glass, that means that your white wine glass should be 8oz to 16oz in size. For red wines, you really don’t want to fill the glass beyond 1/3 full. With red wines, bigger glasses are always better. Again, with a 4-6oz pour of wine, you’re looking at wine glasses that are 12oz to 22oz.

Crystal or Glass

Crystal wine glasses are the more elegant choice and perfect for formal events. Crystal stemware tends to be thinner and have a greater clarity than glass stemware allowing for greater appreciation of the wine inside. Their relative lightness when compared to glass stemware provides a more delicate touch, and can also improve the wine drinking experience.

If you focus more on casual events, you’ll appreciate a sturdier wineglass. Outdoor events or bbqs are the perfect venues for glass stemware. While they do not have the clarity of a crystal wine glass, good glass stemware can add a touch of class to any event. Glass stemware’s durability also lends itself to reduced breakage.

One of the most common questions that we get asked at National Event Supply is how long will it take to get my order? This of course varies dramatically by your location relative to where the order is shipping from as well as the shipping method. Since the shipping method can have such a huge impact on the delivery time, today I am going to provide you with a guideline for our most cost effective LTL (less than truckload) shipments. This is the most common method that we use when you purchase many of our larger products including plastic folding tables, plastic folding chairs, wood folding tables, resin folding chairs, Chiavari chairs, and when you place a larger order for porcelain. It is additionally important to remember that major centers enjoy faster delivery than most secondary points, especially if our carrier needs to hand the shipment off to a smaller local carrier. When our carrier needs to do a hand-off it will take a minimum of 1 additional business day before the order is delivered to your location by the local carrier. It is additionally important to note that these are estimates only and delivery can be effective by factors outside of our control like the weather.

We'll start by looking at the transit times from Toronto, and then the transit times from Vancouver. So what are the approximate LTL transit times for orders shipping from our Mississauga, ON (Toronto) location?

• Victoria, BC—6-7 Business Days
• Vancouver, BC—5-6 Business Days
• Edmonton, AB—5-6 Business Days
• Calgary, AB—5-6 Business Days
• Saskatoon, SK—5-6 Business Days
• Regina, SK—5-6 Business Days
• Winnipeg, MB—4-5 Business Days
• Sudbury, Hamilton, London, Windsor, the Greater Toronto Area, Peterborough, Belleville, and Kingston, ON – 1-2 Business Days
• Ottawa, ON—1-2 Business Days
• Montreal, QC—1-2 Business Days
• Quebec City, QC—2-3 Business Days
• Saint John, NB—2-4 Business Days
• Moncton, NB—2-4 Business Days
• Charlottetown, PEI—2-4 Business Days
• Halifax, NS—2-4 Business Days
• Sydney, NS—3-5 Business Days
• St. John’s, NF—6-7 Business Days
• Corner Brook, NF—6-7 Business Days

Shipping from Vancouver of course gives different transit times, most of which are much faster for the western provinces. We currently stock most sizes of our Plastic Folding Tables, Wood Folding Tables, and a variety of Chairs in Delta, BC at our third party warehouse. This location in the Vancouver metro area not only allows for faster deliveries, it can also dramatically reduce the cost of shipping. So what are the approximate LTL transit times for orders shipping from our Delta, BC (Vancouver) third party warehouse location?

• Victoria, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Duncan, BC—1-3 Business Days
• Nanaimo, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Courtenay, BC—1-3 Business Days
• Comox, BC—1-3 Business Days
• Campbell River, BC—1-3 Business Days
• North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, New Westminster, Richmond, Langley, Whistler and Coquitlam, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Kelowna, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Kamloops, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Penticton, BC—1-2 Business Days
• Calgary, AB—2-3 Business Days
• Medicine Hat, AB—3-4 Business Days
• Lethbridge, AB—3-4 Business Days
• Red Deer, AB—3-4 Business Days
• Edmonton, AB—2-3 Business Days

Image courtesy of Sula Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As National Event Supply has grown we have continued to introduce unique products to the Canadian rental and event market. While these are products that many of the large rental companies have across Canada and the United States, they are likely not very common (but growing in popularity) where your rental company is. Here are 5 products offered by National Event Supply that will help take your small or midsize rental company to the next level.

1. NES Reliable Resin Chiavari Chairs

Almost every party and tent rental company across North America offers a basic chair. Some offer the NES Reliable Bistro Chairs and others the NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chairs. The next step for many is the NES Reliable Resin Folding Chair (a great chair for all special events). To rise above the crowd however, we recommend the NES Reliable Resin Chiavari Chairs, available in Gold, Silver, Black, Mahogany, White. We also stock Clear Chiavari Chairs that we have aptly named NES Reliable Crystal Chiavari Chairs.

2. Serenity Crystal Wine Glasses

Glassware is a staple of the rental industry. If you are throwing a party or having a wedding with a few hundred guests, do you really want to wash all of those glasses? Of course not, it’s the perfect time to rent! Offering contemporary Crystal Stemware to your rental clientele is a great way to differentiate yourself from your competition.

3. Square Dinnerware

Square dinnerware has been a staple of the rental industry for years now. National Event Supply is proud to offer a wide selection of square plates, platters, bowls, cups, and accessory pieces to make your event pop. While square dinnerware is very common for rental in larger centers across Canada and the United States, it is still fairly unique is smaller centers. Many are afraid that square is just too radical for their customers. After talking to many rental operators that felt the exact same way before introducing square dinnerware to their customers, I can tell you it is a product worth investing in.

4. 8'x42" NES Wood Folding Harvest Table

Have you ever seen those wedding pictures where the guests are eating on what looks like a dining room table, cover with a table cloth with beautiful center pieces spread along the table? Of course you have because they look fantastic! Some of them may even be featured on your very own website. While big and bulky these tables continue to grow in popularity for use in weddings and special events.