If you’re shopping for Champagne flutes, you may want to change your search. Over the past two decades, the flute has been quietly abandoned. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to find a flute-shaped glass on the website of any major Champagne house. Instead, you’ll find tulip- or bowl-shaped glasses. Why has the industry moved away from flutes? Read on to learn about the best Champagne glasses, backed by the science of sparkling wine.
The Problem with Champagne Flutes
The flute became popular in the late 1700s for its ability to beautifully showcase Champagne’s rising bubbles. And with its slender silhouette, the flute quickly became an icon of glamour and luxury.
But if you actually want to smell your wine, good luck fitting your nose through that teeny opening. The Champagne flute is a great vessel for sipping wine, but certainly not for expressing the full range of a wine’s aromatics.
This study by the Food and Nutrition Journal had some great findings on how glass shape can impact Champagne:
- The best glassware should preserve Champagne’s bubbles. In sparkling wines, the release of aromatic particles is directly tied to the release of carbon dioxide. So, the faster a wine loses bubbles, the faster it loses its aromas.
- Flutes are worse at retaining bubbles than standard, bowl-shaped INAO-certified tasting glasses. This study found that the act of pouring wine actually causes it to lose carbonation. Long, narrow flutes create a “swirling motion” during pouring that causes wine to lose more carbonation than wider glasses.
- A standard, bowl-shaped INAO (Institut National d’Appellation d’Origine) wine glass was actually better at retaining Champagne effervescence and aromatics than Champagne flutes. These glasses are used widely across France by industry professionals. They are small glasses that are meant to hold 2-3 ounce pours. The INAO glass is also affordable and durable – a set of 6 costs less than $40.
Why Not Use Standard Glassware?
At this point, you may be wondering why Champagne even needs special treatment. If Champagne is wine, why not just drink it in a standard wine glass?
The truth is, many sommeliers do taste Champagne out of standard white wine glasses, instead of Champagne glasses. The typical white wine glass has a bowl measuring about 3” at its widest part. This is large enough to allow tasters to better experience Champagne’s aromatics, without losing too many bubbles due to surface area. This is a particularly good approach if you have limited space for storing glassware.
- SAVE: Schott Zwiesel makes thin, refined glassware at an affordable price. Their shatter-resistant crystal white wine glasses can be purchased in sets of 8.
- SPLURGE: For an elevated tasting experience, it’s hard to beat Zaltoglas, all of whose glasses are mouth-blown to achieve the ultimate level of thinness and elasticity. Each glass is constructed according to the angles of the earth’s tilt – 24, 48, and 72 degrees.
To note: avoid Burgundy, Bordeaux, and other red wine glasses. These are often 4-5” at their widest point, and will cause sparkling wines to lose their effervescence too quickly.
My Favorite Champagne Glass
Now, we’ve established that it is unnecessary to give Champagne (or other sparkling wines) their own unique glass. However, I openly admit that sparkling wine, for me, is often a beverage for special occasions. There is something quite iconic about the long stem and slender silhouette of a Champagne glass that makes it more occasion-worthy.
I want some of the aesthetics of a traditional Champagne glass. However, I also want glassware that is functional, letting me smell the wine like any other glass would. The solution? The Riedel Performance Champagne Glass meets all of my requirements for everyday use:
- Small bowl to prevent rapid loss of bubbles
- Glass is thick enough to be durable, but thin at the lip so as not to interfere with sips
- Tall stem adds a more luxurious aesthetic
The Final Sip
A big deciding factor will come down to your budget and how much space you have to store all of these glasses. If you often host large groups, you will want to avoid serving wine in mismatched glassware. In this case, having a large quantity of one type of glassware will make more sense than having a few of many different glasses. For this reason, many are fans of the Gabriel Glas’ StandArt Universal Wine Glass, which fits every wine need from Prosecco to Bordeaux.
Ultimately, glassware choice is personal. Some drinkers prefer a different glass shape for every varietal, from Sauvignon Blanc to Zinfandel. Some can use one glass for everything. If you’re like me, and Champagne is just not the same for you in a white wine glass, it’s worth investing in a set of tulip- or small bowl-shaped Champagne glasses.