(orchestral music)
- You know, nothing says
hey, let's celebrate,
what do you think, okay?
Okay.
Like a bottle of champagne.
But when you go and pop the
cork, grab a couple glasses,
you'll find that you're
presented with a wide array of
choices, so exactly which
champagne glass works best?
Well, we have the answer.
First though, we have to get
to the bottom of what makes
champagne, champagne.
Champagne has to be produced
and grown in the Champagne
region of France.
Anything outside of that is just simply
called sparkling wine.
And champagne is also only made from
three varieties of grape.
Pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay.
Then, lastly, the hallmark of champagne.
The thing that really makes
champagne, champagne is the
bubbles.
When you pour it into a glass,
those bubbles are supposed
to be showcased.
It's one of the main things
that a champagne glass is meant
to do, show off the bubbles.
It's also meant to keep the
champagne cool and to show off
the aroma.
So when you stick your nose
in it, the smell of champagne,
the bubbles hit your nose and
you're just like oh that's
so good, that's so good.
That's what a champagne
glass is supposed to do so,
which kind of glass is best for that.
Well let's start with flutes.
So with the champagne flute,
this is probably the one you're
the most familiar with, right?
It's tall, it's skinny,
it's got a couple of things going for it.
For one, the fact that it's
skinny means that the opening at
top allows less atmospheric
air to get into the champagne.
The lower surface area means that
the bubbles have less chance to escape.
So a champagne flute keeps
more bubbles in, showcasing it
as they say.
The fact that there's less
surface also means that the
champagne stays cooler longer.
But, the great failing of
flutes is that it also prevents
the aromas from wafting off
the top of the champagne glass
which means that you can jam
your nose in there all day
long, and yeah, you'll get
tickled by the bubbles,
but you're not gonna smell
the champagne very well.
As a result, oenophiles,
people who love wine, including
champagne eschew flutes altogether.
They say that champagne
flutes are nay good.
Okay?
Stay away from them.
Up next we have the champagne
coupe, which they were crazy
about in the 1930s.
If you ever see a movie from
the 30s and they're drinking
champagne, they're probably using a coupe.
These things have shallow bowls
which are really wide which
means that a lot of
gas exchange can occur.
This means that you get loads
of aroma of the champagne,
but those bubbles dissipate
like that, and your champagne
can get warm faster.
Although if you're drinking
warm champagne, you're doing
something wrong.
You need to drink it faster than that.
Lastly, we come to the champagne tulip.
Now here is the one that
anybody who knows anything about
champagne says this is the glass you
should be drinking from.
It combines the best of both worlds.
It's kind of tall and narrow
like a flute, but in the middle
it bows out, which gives
it its tulip shape.
So it allows the aroma to come
up and then concentrate, and
shoot your nose like a shotgun
blast full of champagne
bouquet.
And, since it is tall, it allows
those bubbles to nucleate,
showcasing them.
So the tulip is the clear-cut
winner for drinking champagne.
That's what the experts
say, who are we to disagree.
Although, as long as you're
not just drinking it straight
from the bottle, we're
not gonna judge you.
And even if you do do that,
we won't judge you anyway.
Now let's finish on a pro tip shall we?
If you ever do find yourself
with champagne that's gone
flat and you need to recharge
it just long enough to drink,
drop a raisin in your glass
and pour the champagne over it.
It will bring it back to life.
Pretty amazing stuff,
just trust me, it's magic.
What do you like to
drink champagne out of?
Let us know in the comment
section below, and while you're
down there subscribe to Brain Stuff.
You can't do much better than that.
And, visit our mothership
site, HowStuffWorks.com.
