What’s best for bubbly?
Dash of Seduction investigates.

By Boris Coridian/CH

Gentlemen prefer coupes

Also known as the champagne saucer, the coupe is the most erotic glass.  Legend has it that the enticing wide-rimmed shape was modeled on the infamous breasts of Marie-Antoinette, Diane of Poitiers (Henry II’s mistress), or the Marquise of Pompadour and the Countess of Barry, two of Louis XV’s “favourites”.  A story with sexist, locker-room origins, never endorsed by any historian, like in the words of Moliere’s Tartuffe, “Cover up that bosom, which I can’t endure to look on.  Things like that offend our souls, and fill our minds with sinful thoughts.”  Technically speaking, as the drinking position is above the coupe, you can’t get a whiff of the bouquet, and there is always the risk of nose dunking.  Also, have you ever been to a cocktail party without seeing an entire coupe spilled on an evening gown?

Champagne Suitability Rating : 15%

Survival of the flute-ist

The flute, the most stylish and elegant stem, is immediately associated with its sparkling partner.  At any function, a simple glance at a guest holding the svelte glass and his or her presence is immediately understood.  The elongated form has the advantage of sipping without splash but be careful not to create a bubbly mini-tsunami when putting the glass down.  The flute is technically not the best drinking “vessel” for champagne, but it is well adapted to the most airy and lively wines.

Champagne Suitability Rating : 90%

Why you should pick the wine glass

Because champagne is a wine, silly!  With an effervescent starting point concentrating the bubbles’ finesse, this stem has all of the characteristics required to best appreciate Champagne wines. Non-Vintage extra brut and Blancs de blancs are suited to wider wine glasses to be at their fullest.  Blancs de noirs, rosés and vinous champagnes are best tasted in glasses with narrower extremities to concentrate the aromas.  The only drawback is that the stem isn’t a stand-out on the table or in hand. It’s just an “ordinary” wine glass.

Champagne Suitability Rating : 97%