Our classic Sundance Wine Tumblers are products of the glassblowing program at Sundance Mountain Resort. The program was developed many years ago out of necessity. The resort has restaurants, a bar and guest areas that all produce glass waste, but at that time there was no nearby glass-recycling facility. So, in typical Sundance fashion, the resort created their own glass-recycling program and turned the results into functional art.

The whole glassblowing process is fascinating. While Sundance Mountain Resort collects glass bottles and jars throughout the year, the expert glassblowing artisans from Mexico come to work on the property seasonally. The resort invites them to transform the used glass into these tumblers and several other glass forms, such as housewares and art pieces.

The recycling process begins by removing labels, washing the glass and sorting by color. After breaking the bottles into small pieces, the glass is melted down in the glass furnace. The glassblowers use long metal poles to pick up the molten glass, then skillfully spin and blow it to create the desired shape and texture. Glassblowing is a delicate art, and using recycled glass is even more challenging to work with since it’s less pliable and cools more rapidly than new glass. So the glassblowers are truly amazing artisans! Finally, the finished pieces are tempered in the glass kiln and made ready for sale.

Sundance Mountain Resort guests like to stop by the glass studio to watch this mesmerizing artistry in action. And the results, such as these beautiful Sundance Wine Tumblers, have been pleasing many of our customers for years.

Shop the Sundance Wine Tumblers here.