Sparkling is such a classic drink, and one that evokes the feeling of celebration and party, but we had no idea that your standard champagne flute could actually be the worst thing to drink your bubbles from.
You know that sparkling should be chilled (we shudder at warm fizz), and pouring it into a narrow, fluted glass seems like the right thing to do. However it turns out we should be using a different glass entirely, and you probably even have it at home already.
Enter: the wine glass.
No really, a wider glass that we commonly reach for when serving wine is what you should be using.
This is the shape of glass you should be using.
“Flutes are not a good option since the narrow shape makes it impossible to properly smell Champagnes which have complex aromas,” Willem Pinçon from Champagne house Charles Heidsieck told Stylist magazine
“I personally recommend a white wine glass, something close to a tulip shape that is wide enough at the base to be able to swirl the Champagne – which breaks down the molecules and releases more aroma – and narrower at the top to concentrate these aromas.”
However this handy tip doesn’t apply to Prosecco, as the Italian drop doesn’t have the same aromas and won’t benefit from a wider glass.
So does this mean that any old wine glass will do? Or in an emergency situation, even a mug? It seems so!
Another mistake you might be making is serving your bubbly too chilled. Like white and red wine there’s an ideal temperature to enjoy it, and you’ll notice a difference when you do it right. Anyone who has sipped warm white wine will know this.
“You want it not too warm but not too chilled either, in order to get the best aroma and taste,” Pinçon explains. “It should be kept at 10-12 degrees for a non-vintage and 12-14 degrees for a vintage bottle to express the complexity of older Champagnes as best as possible.”
So probably avoid keeping your good drop into the back of the freezer for too long.
