New research has shown the Ideal Wine Company just why we should all be quaffing our favourite tipple from these iconic narrow glasses. Here are the benefits to drinking champagne out of a flute.
Shape matters
Over the years, Champagne has developed a reputation as one of the most delicious, luxurious drinks in the world. You know that if you purchase the Salon 1999 from the Ideal Wine Company, for instance, you’ll end up with a fabulously decadent vintage, that’ll provide you with a drinking experience you’ll never forget.
Common convention suggests that you only drink Champagne out of a wine flute. This is because the shape of a flute is said to highlight the superb qualities of this protected French sparkling wine. There’s some truth to the theory that the shape of a wine glass matters. The Ideal Wine Company previously explained that a study showed that the shape of a wine glass changes the way a vintage smells, which can have a strong effect on its overall taste.
Proving the point
The Daily Mail recently reported that a study conducted at the University of Rheims, in France, has illustrated why we should all be drinking Champagne from flutes. The researchers discovered that flutes enhance the flavour of the drink. Wider ‘coupe’ glasses allow less of the aromatic compounds that give Champagne its distinctive flavour to release, changing its distinctive taste.
Specifically, scientists at the University of Rheims found that as bubbles rise and burst in a glass of Champagne, they make tiny droplets that produce the drink’s unique flavour and aroma. In flutes and other narrow glasses, the bubbles mix together as they rise, allowing a stronger flavour to ferment in the glass. But in wider glassware, such as ‘Coupe’ glasses, these bubbles spread out meaning they don’t mix as much as they would in a flute, weakening the Champagne’s overall flavour.
Explaining the results of the research, Professor Gerard Liger-Belair, the chemical physicist who led the study, said: “A liquid is able to release its aromatic compounds more efficiently if it is in motion other than if it is at rest, thus helping the evaporation of compounds from the champagne surface. In coupe, the central bubble flow is simply not able to drive the fluid at the edge of the vessel.”
Appreciate your Champagne
So if you’re planning to throw a special event in 2016, make sure you have a steady supply of Champagne flutes in your kitchen cupboards. These wonderfully narrow glasses will allow you to fully appreciate the outstanding qualities of the Ideal Wine Company’s selections of Champagnes, ensuring you’ll throw a bash people will be talking about for years to come!
