Why you’re doing it wrong if you drink bubbly out of a champagne flute (and the glass you SHOULD use)
“Using a flute is like going to a concert with ear plugs,” according to a SEO of a posh champagne brand
IF you’ve been enjoying a glass of fizz from a champagne flute, then you’re not getting the best out of the booze, according to one expert.
In fact, Maggie Henriquez, the CEO of the prestigious champagne house Krug, describes drinking the bubbles from a tall, slim glass like "going to a concert with ear plugs".
Speaking at the official launch of Krug 2004 (which costs £200 a bottle), Henriquez said: "Flutes are for bad champagne, sorbet or gazpacho, but not to drink Champagne," reported.
And I suppose if you're gonna spend that much on a bottle of wine you want it to taste as good as possible.
The rule also applies to other bubbly alcohol, like Prosecco, Cava and sparkling wine too.
Why? Because the mouth of a flute is too small for us to really get a hit of the flavour.
The secret to the perfect taste of sparkling alcohol is the bubbles, which carry "aroma and flavour".
Instead, we should be stocking up on tulip shaped wine glasses because the depth and wide curving mouth helps us smell the drink at the same time as sipping, making the taste more intense.
WE’LL DRINK TO THAT This advent calendar delivers a bottle of sparkling wine every day in December up until Christmas Eve
So while the Prosecco glass that holds a full bottle's worth seems like a great idea, it's not actually giving us the benefit of the booze.
"A wider surface area permits the aromas and flavour to spread," the School of Booze founder Jane Peyton told the Sun Online.
"The curved mouth of the glass directs them to the drinker's nose. The brain registers flavour through the nose - and the tongue registers tastes like bitterness, acidity and salt."
A deep glass helps the bubbles travel quickly when it's poured, so the intense flavour reaches your nose at the same time you sip it.
IKEA sell individual tulip-shaped wine glasses - they say they’re ideal for white wine, but they're good for sparkling drinks too - for .
But if the champagne flute makes it feel like more of a special occasion, then you shouldn’t switch glasses.
Jane said: "It’s really down to the drinker. I really like flutes because they are elegant and they suggest a sense of occasion.
"Part of the enjoyment of anything is the perception of the person doing it, so if people like fizz from flutes then I would say do it!"
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