There has been a lot of debate lately in the wine trade about champagne glasses and what is the proper glass to use. Should you use a flute or a white wine glass?
 
The traditional champagne glass was a coupe, which legend has was modeled after the left breast of Maria Antoinette. Whether this is true or not, is not really the point but has become common lore. The long, tall flute is now the most commonly used type of glass used for champagne but many wine pros turn to tulip or white wine glasses because of their wide bottom and middle which tapers up slightly, gathering the aromas at the top of the glass.
 
I decided to do a rather unscientific experiment and see what glass worked best. I have 3 different types of flutes at home, including a Riedel flute, designed especially to enhance my champagne drinking experience and a generic white wine glass. I also had a mini bottle of Mumm in the fridge which I decided was good enough for this experiment.
 
I poured a bit of champagne in each glass and commenced the test. The first two glasses were traditional flutes. The first was a small flute glass and the second was a bit taller and bulbous. On sniffing, neither glass showed much on the nose, maybe a hint of toast but that was about it. On tasting them, neither showed much character, citrus seemed to be the most prevalent note. There were, however, lots of bubbles emanating from the bottom of both glasses and plenty slipping and sliding around my mouth.
 
The third glass was a Riedel and on smelling it, there was definitely a much more floral note to the nose, there was also more citrus on the palate and a toasty note. There were again plenty of bubbles spiraling up the glass and it was a pleasure to both look at and drink.
 
Now, onto the last glass, the white wine glass. I knew there would be a difference, having drunk champagne out of white wine glasses before but the difference was very noticeable when compared to the flutes. The aromas of the wine jumped out of the glass even before I got it fully up to my nose. A very floral note along with a hint of chalky-ness as well was apparent. On the palate, there was also a bit more complexity, the flavours seemed heightened compared to the flutes. The biggest difference was the bubbles, there were not near as many and the ones that were there were very tiny indeed. I suppose there has to be a trade off, less bubbles but heightened aromas and flavours. Although, the white wine glass does not have as many bubbles and the wine warms up faster, champagne is often served too cold so that could very well be a good thing.
 
So there you have it. If you want to experience the aromas and flavours of champagne as intensely as possible, then I would go for the white wine glass. But if you just like the bubbles, which I do, then go for a flute. A Riedel flute comes the closest to combining the two and luckily, I happen to have a few in my cupboard.