champagne flutes

[deborahp]

Why is champagne/fizzy wine served in champagne flutes as opposed to wine glasses? Just wondered if there was a reason for this.

[joggerjayne]

A tall, thin glass has the smallest surface area.

This means that fewer bubbles escape, so the Champagne keeps its fizz.

[deborahp]

makes sense - many thanks!

[joggerjayne]

Pleasure.

=0)

[ethandron]

funny how in the olden days champagne was always served in those saucer-shaped champagne glasses that had a huge surface area. i wonder when it was decided they were no longer the best type?

[joggerjayne]

There was a short, awful period a few decades ago when those ghastly Champagne "dishes" (wide, shallow glasses) were fashionable.

The Champagne instantly went flat. Yuck!

But ... some people don't like the bubbles. They use those Champagne "twizzers" to fizz up the Champagne ... all the bubbles pop to the surface, and the remaining Champagne is less fizzy. Weird people, mostly.

For me, the whole point of Champagne is the bubbliness, the way it goes up your nose, and looks pretty in the glass.

[fredpuli47]

The history of the champagne glass in Britain is curious.When it was introduced to Britain, in the C17, champagne was certainly being drunk from a glass similar to, but a little bit wider and shorter than the modern flute.That's because it was being drunk from the kind of glass used for some other wines and strong ales.Only in 1832 is there any reference to a 'champagne glass'. Then it is described as a saucer.

Can't remember the modern 'flute' being introduced and used in Britain until the early 1960s.At that time it was a matter of trendy wine snobbery. Those 'in the know' (or pretending to be) , ostentatiously presented the drink in the narrow glass , even commenting on the fact that, of course, the saucer was so old fashioned!

The name flute for the glass is taken directly from French.It may be that the French always used flutes.