Champagne in Stems Other Than Flutes

[MandyC]

@John Danza

For me it depends on the audience. If I have mostly wine aficionados over for dinner, then I serve in a white wine glass. If it’s “regular folks”, I use flutes because they like the bubbles and expect the look.

I subscribe to this practice, too. My personal first choice is always a white wine glass for reasons already stated by other posters.

[Jay_Winton]

My favorite stem is a parfait glass I bought in France. A narrow base that has a wider opening at the top. It really seems to bring out the flavors of champagne. I’ve compared it with a number of other stems and it is consistently my preference.

[scott_c]

@Kevin Kitagawa

Some of the new Champagne glasses…similar to a Zalto Champagne are actually a good compromise between the two…

Some depth to help retain bubbles but a larger bulb to get you a better nose…

Comparing a Zalto Universal to the Zalto Champagne, the nose was slightly better on the Universal…the Bubbles maintained much better in the Champagne…both are vast improvements to a normal champagne flute.

This. I mostly drink young Champagne from a Zalto Champagne glass – it has a wide enough belly to allow the aromas to come through, but is deep enough to retain bubbles. Bubbles are the point of Champagne, otherwise we would all be drinking really acidic still Pinot and Chard from there (or not, given the superiority of their neighbors to the south).

[J_Singleton]

Scott, you just have to pour yourself a big glass and the bubbles will be maintained just fine in the universal.

[scott_c]

@J. Singleton

Scott, you just have to pour yourself a big glass and the bubbles will be maintained just fine in the universal.

[Jeffrey_Neal]

@Nick Gangas

I know I’m being cotrarian but I prefer a flute. I tried the white wine glass and it just doesn’t feel festive to me. If I’m looking for a great white wine experience I’ll pop a burg.

The “feeling festive” part of it may be what keeps some folks holding on to their flutes. If you view bubbles as something for a celebration, maybe the flute is best. It has the right look and feel.

If you just enjoy a good glass of sparkling wine any time, feeling festive isn’t important. When I want to enjoy a good sparkling wine, I go with a white wine glass and enjoy the aroma and flavor. When we are pouring a splash of bubbles for a celebratory toast, I go with the flutes (and don’t pour the good stuff).

[DougS]

I think flutes are pretty much the worst choice for anything of quality. A wine’s aroma is severely muted in them. Young sparkling wines are far too bubbly for me when first poured anyway. All of the CO2 gets in the way of me smelling the wine. I pour into a white wine glass, Universal, or Burgundy glass, and a couple of swirls really unlock the aromatics of the wine. If the bubbles are the main attraction, rather than the aromas, why not just drink cheap Cava all the time? That’s about all I will drink out of a flute.

[Chae_Yi]

Merrill,

the Italians use wide bowl glasses when they drink bubblies. My preference is the simple chardonnay glass from Reidel vinum series.

[Ralph_Earle]

+1 for the Montrachet glass, especially for older vintages.

[Robert_Love]

@Ralph Earle

+1 for the Montrachet glass, especially for older vintages.

Slide thread-hijack: I’ve always wondered about the history of the Montrachet glass. Is it just a Riedel invention? I’ve never seen anyone else offer it, at least by that name.

I’ve always found it a silly shape for white burgundy. I serve mine in traditional Burgundy tulip glasses e.g. Zalto Burgundy. To bring this question on topic with this thread, I serve vintage Champagne in that glass, too.

[Scott_G_r_u_n_e_r]

Flutes are for wedding toasts with cheap bubbly.

Simple test. If you when you take a sip and the business end of your nose goes on the outside of the rim, you are using the wrong stem.

[Anton_D]

What kind of stemware do Champagne makers use?

Maybe we should emulate them.

Which stem is this? I like it a lot!

Accueil | Champagne Taittinger

[Neal.Mollen]

@Scott G r u n e r

Flutes are for wedding toasts with cheap bubbly.

Simple test. If you when you take a sip and the business end of your nose goes on the outside of the rim, you are using the wrong stem.

^^^ wisdom

[Anton_D]

@Scott G r u n e r

Flutes are for wedding toasts with cheap bubbly.

Simple test. If you when you take a sip and the business end of your nose goes on the outside of the rim, you are using the wrong stem.

Or, you should get your overbite checked.

[Merrill_Lindquist]

My Champagne last night was not a true Champagne. One of the better domestic “bubblies” (I hate that word), but perhaps benefits from being extra-cold and extra-bubbly, as from a flute.

I have a true Champagne from Pierre Peters, and I will continue with my learning process.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Merrill Lindquist

My Champagne last night was not a true Champagne. One of the better domestic “bubblies” (I hate that word), but perhaps benefits from being extra-cold and extra-bubbly, as from a flute.

I have a true Champagne from Pierre Peters, and I will continue with my learning process.

Why don’t you try the Peters Champagne from a Flute, a white wine glass and a Burgundy glass and see which you prefer?

[Daniel_H]

If stems are good enough for Dom Perignon…

[Anton_D]

@Howard Cooper

@Merrill Lindquist

My Champagne last night was not a true Champagne. One of the better domestic “bubblies” (I hate that word), but perhaps benefits from being extra-cold and extra-bubbly, as from a flute.

I have a true Champagne from Pierre Peters, and I will continue with my learning process.

Why don’t you try the Peters Champagne from a Flute, a white wine glass and a Burgundy glass and see which you prefer?

I am about to out myself as a wine dope, but I find Champagne in a glass with too big a bowl to be overwhelming on the nose. It doesn’t “feel right” to me.

Is Champagne lower pH than still wines?

My favorite is a slightly “bowed” flute or the Riedel sauvignon blanc glass that I think may be out of production - I can’t find a pic of the one I mean.

[Joe_S]

@Anton D

@Scott G r u n e r

Flutes are for wedding toasts with cheap bubbly.

Simple test. If you when you take a sip and the business end of your nose goes on the outside of the rim, you are using the wrong stem.

Or, you should get your overbite checked.

I guess Pinocchio avoids drinking champagne.

[Anton_D]

@Joe S.

I guess Pinocchio avoids drinking champagne.

As does Mr. Burns.