Champagne flute glasses

Start with the occasion. For a reception or a toast where you quickly fill many glasses, small flutes of 9.5 to 16 cl work best: you pour a small amount more often, so no one is left with warm champagne. At the table, 20 to 26 cl is the standard size, filled to about two-thirds. Larger flutes of 30 to 35 cl are intended for those who also want to smell their champagne, as the bowl is wide enough for the aromas to collect.

Then pay attention to two details. A thin, uncut rim lets the bubbles flow undisturbed into the mouth. Many flutes also have a nucleation point on the bottom, a tiny rough spot where the carbon dioxide attaches, creating a single neat stream of bubbles. If you prefer the broad, shallow model that loses its bubbles faster but releases more aroma, those are listed separately under champagne coupe glasses.

Pour cold and at an angle. Champagne should be poured into the flute at between 6 and 8 degrees, and you should hold the glass at an angle so the mousse runs down the side instead of foaming up in the center. Pour in two stages: first a small amount, then wait for the foam to settle before topping it up. This way, you lose considerably less carbonation than with one quick pour.

The flute is also the glass for sparkling cocktails that you build in the glass. A mimosa is champagne with equal parts orange juice, and a bellini replaces the juice with peach purée and prosecco. In both cases, pour the juice into the glass first and the bubbles afterward; otherwise, it will foam over. Keep the bottle in the champagne coolerbetween rounds, because a bottle that warms up will fizz much more vigorously the next time you pour it.

With champagne glasses, grease matters more than it does with any other type of glass. A thin film of dish soap, rinse aid, or hand cream on the inside wall destroys the bubbles as soon as they rise, causing the mousse to disappear even though nothing is wrong with the bottle. So always rinse flutes thoroughly with hot water and do not use rinse aid.

Preferably, let them air-dry on a clean cloth with the bowl facing upward so the thin rim rests on nothing. If you do need to polish them, use a lint-free cloth and hold the bowl rather than the stem. For the narrow interior, where no cloth fits, a long-handled glass brush is the only tool that really works.

If you’re looking for the broader range, including coupes, tulip glasses, and everything in between, you’ll find it all under champagne glasses in the menu alongside. If you drink still white wine more often than bubbly, then white wine glasses are the logical next step. If you serve sparkling cocktails more often than straight champagne, a wide glass is more pleasant than a narrow flute. And if you want to open a bottle the traditional way, with a saber instead of your thumb, you’ll find the tool among the champagne sabers.