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New Year’s Eve is approaching and traditionally we pop off a bottle of champagne. If you have selected a Bulgarian naturally sparkling wine for your table, we will be really proud. This would be recognition for us that with these articles we have managed to make you believe more in Bulgarian wine.
Of course the sparkling wine deserves to be served in the right glass. And you will take a visit to someone during the holiday time and you are still wondering what to buy for a present, the rightly chosen wine glasses would be a great decision.
But what glass should we choose: “flute”, “coupe” or “tulip”.
Ten years ago, during a discussion about what would be the most appropriate glass for champagne the sommeliers have given a priority to the elegant, elongated glass “flute”. More expensive glasses have roughness on the bottom which is made especially to navigate the bubbles in one elegant flow. But the little space on the top of the glass is considered not enough to completely reveal the aromas of the wine.
And even though the glasses “flute” are still very much preferable, the interest is slowly moving to the glasses that look a lot like those for white wine. This could be explained somehow with the great variety of sparkling wines in present days made in the different regions of the world – Prosecco, Crémant, and Cava. Another theory is that this beverage is in transition. Because of the warmer weather conditions in the wine regions in time the vintages are becoming fruitier and we need to find the right glass, where he wine will express best his positive sides.
The “tulip” seems to be like the golden middle place, allowing good expression of the bubbles and space for revealing the aromatic flavors on the top of the glass. There are many wine lovers, who are one step ahead, by preferring even the big Burgundy balloon glass. In order to understand the evolution of the champagne glass, we need to follow its history.
The classical glass for champagne or so called “coupe glass” is a predecessor of the “flute”. True or not, it is believed that the glass is sculptured by the example of Marie Antoinette’s left breast, the scandalous wife of Louis XVI.
The Englishmen used to love drinking sparkling wines and here comes the undeniable fact, that the first special glass for sparkling wine is elaborated by the English scientist Christopher Merret in XVII century. In that moment the “coupe” glass has became sense of style among the British highlife society.
The most sparkling wines in that time were effervescent and pink, even a little bit sweetened. For the Englishmen, the “coupe” glass was perfect, and it could reveal the charm of that beverage. In XIX century, thanks to the efforts of wine cellar Veuve Clicquot, the champagne became what we know it in the present days. The classical champagnisation in a bottle gives us the light and live bubbles we enjoy in the glass. But it is exactly that game of the bubble that made the classical “coupe” glass not appropriate for the champagne because the large form makes the bubbles disappears faster and with them the aromas of the wine. The wine also cannot be turn around in the glass because of the high risk or split. In our days, we use those glasses more for cocktails then for sparkling wines.
And here it is the dilemma: whether we use a glass “flute” or a glass “tulip”? The sparkling wines from the New World like Blanc de Blanc, the drier wines, the mineral champagnes without any residual sugar “Zero” is good to be served in the traditional “flute”. More classical vintage champagnes and the prestigious cuvées wines will reveal their aromatic complex in a glass “tulip”. The sparkling Chenin Blanc from Vourvay will impress you with delicate notes of apricot and quince just as good in a glass “tulip” as in a standard glass for white wine. The same thing could be said about the Pinot Noir that dominates in Blanc de Noir. No matter the glass you will choose, you should always experiment. The shape of the glass matters for the wine. As for all the wines, it is the same for the sparkling wine and you need to find the golden middle decision for a glass – deciding between expressing the play of the bubbles and sensing the delicate aromas of the wine.
Villa Yustina and the whole team wish you happy holidays and unforgettable party for New Year’s Eve. Our toast will be with Brut Villa Yustina in glass “tulip”!
