With the holiday season right around the corner, you might want to start stocking up on Champagne. To give your guests a fabulous time this year, you might want to ensure you have the right kind of glasses for your top Champagne. Ideal Wine Company debates flutes vs. coupes for Champagne.
Shape really matters
The way you serve wine has a serious impact on the drinking experience. When serving wine, for example, you should consider how much to pour. You should ideally have enough room in the glass to swirl the drink, unlocking its complex flavours, so a wine glass “should be no more than a third full.”
Even the shape of a glass matters. Research from the University of Tokyo indicates that wine glasses act as a filter, wiping away ethanol to maximise flavour, so you can enjoy the rich aromas and flavours of your favourite vintage. Different shapes work for different types of drinks. You would need a standard wine glass for reds, for example, but this would never work for something like Champagne.
Flutes vs. coupes
When you serve Champagne, you are dealing with a carbonated product. Experts believe that you need a type of glass that will encourage the flow of bubbles, as well as maximise flavours, to truly appreciate a Champagne. This is why in modern times, many people drink Champagne in a tall, narrow bowl glass called a flute, which you can hold by the stem, so you don’t warm it with your hands.
However, Glass of Bubbly writes, there are advantages to using a Champagne coupe instead. Coupes are shorter and wider-brimmed than flutes and can also be held at the stem, meaning that the drinker’s body heat doesn’t alter the nature of the Champagne. They were the first style of glass made specifically for Champagne and are now often associated with the golden era of Hollywood glamour.
Flutes are popular among those who like bubbly Champagne. Coupes are favoured among those who are interested in the full body and flavour of the product, instead of just its bubbles. This is because the wider brim of a coupe allows the Champagne greater exposure to air, meaning that it has a fuller taste. The glass that’s right for you, really depends on what you’re looking for from Champagne.
Try them out
There are pros and cons to flutes and coupes, so test out both before choosing how to serve your Champagne this holiday season. To ensure your guests have a fabulous time, make sure that you have wonderful Champagne to serve in either flutes or coupes. Browse Ideal Wine Company’s Champagnes list, which features noted brands like Dom Perignon, to find your perfect tipple this Christmas.
Image courtesy of Didriks.
