We’ve all heard the expression, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

That’s the way I felt when I was invited to a demonstration of a breathable glass that supposedly would provide the same aeration to wine in two or three minutes as decanting it for an hour or two.

To say I was skeptical was an understatement.

In front of my eyes Matthew Levy of Balzac Communications opened a bottle of 2004 Arrowood Sonoma County reserve chardonnay and poured some into two glasses — one was the so-called breathable glass and the other a standard wine glass, both made by the same company, Eisch, a German stemware producer.

I swirled the regular glass, then the breathable glass, and stuck my nose into each — there was a difference. The wine in the breathable glass was fruitier. Then I tasted the two. Same thing — it was fruitier.

Then a 2005 Hartford Court Sonoma Coast vineyard-designated pinot noir was poured. Again, both the aroma and taste were fruitier in the breathable glass.

The clincher was the third wine poured, a 2004 Stonestreet Christopher’s cabernet sauvignon. Not only was it fruitier, but the tannins were greatly softened in the breathable glass.

What causes the change? “It’s magic,” Alan Zalayet, a partner and president of export for Eisch Glaskultur, says whenever he’s asked that question. He refuses to divulge the methodology in creating the glass, nor will he even disclose how long it took to develop the process. It obviously involves somehow rearranging the atomic structure of the material, but all that is said about it is that each glass undergoes a proprietary oxygenizing process after the glass is manufactured.

That process, plus the shape of the glass to accentuate the wine it holds, combine to affect the aroma and taste, the company said.

It’s not a brand new product. It was introduced to the public in 2004 at the celebration for the 25th anniversary of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and was used in wine tasting activities during the event.

It was called to the attention of Ronn Wiegand, publisher of Restaurant News, about the same time. He acknowledged that he was skeptical — just about every gimmick on the market has been brought to his doorstep, including several that claim to aerate wine immediately.

“I was immediately impressed,” Wiegand told the Register. “I convinced him (the sales representative) to leave some with me, and I tried them on every wine I tasted. It tends to soften the wine and bring it into better balance right away — it tends to make the wine more harmonious. It seems to emphasize the fruit and pushes the fruit forward. If there’s a lot of fruit, it puts (the fruit) forward even more.”

Wiegand, who is only one of two people in the U.S. to hold both Master of Wine and Master Sommelier credentials, said the glass gives the impact of several hours of aeration.

“I use it every day and have used it with thousands of wines,” he said. “It’s my choice of glass for everyday use.”

“It works equally well on all beverages,” he added. “On sake, especially. The quality of sake doubles.”

He was so impressed that he’s working with Eisch on a joint venture to produce a line of glasses he has designed. The company created six shapes to his specifications (after dozens of rejected prototypes submitted over a period of a year): one each for cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, chardonnay and other white wines, an all-purpose glass for red wines, one for sparkling wine and a tumbler — a glass without a stem.

He expects them to be available in the U.S. in late January, priced at about $24 to $28 each.

A word of caution, however. The breathable glass doesn’t work miracles on every wine — it won’t turn a bad wine into a good one.