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How Best to Drink Sparkling Wine & Champagne

The smaller the bubble, the better the Champagne.  The colder the liquid, the better gas (carbon dioxide) dissolves in it.  This is why as any sparkling liquid warms up, its becomes less gassy.

Large bubbles in sparkling wine are a mark of lesser quality, the bubbles form as the gas rises and expands to 20 microns in diameter.  When the bubbles reach the surface, they are approximately 1mm in diameter at which point they burst and release a fine spray of liquid into the air and ultimately up your nose as you drink.  Studies have shown that the average bottle of sparkling wine contains nearly 50 million bubbles.

Therefore, the shape of the glass will affect the temperature of the sparkling wine and the delivery of the collapsing bubbles to the mouth and nose. This will be disappointing to hear for fans of the shallow coupe glass supposedly modelled by a porcelain maker from Sevres near Paris, on the breast of a reclining Marie-Antoinette.  This chalice allows the wine to warm too quickly because of the large exposed surface area and allows the fizz to fall flat onto the ‘lake’ of wine rather than being thrown upwards into the air.

Flutes keep the liquid cooler, reducing hand and air contact, forcing the exploding bubbles and spray upwards.  It is the interaction of the exploding bubbles and wine aroma with the nose and tongue of the drinker, that affects the wines taste and ultimately its enjoyment.  Sparkling wine of lesser complexity benefits from a straighter flute as this enhances the power of the exploding bubbles, whilst more complex wine benefits from a curved flute giving room for the mist and aroma to be fully expressed.

Sparkling wine/Champagne glasses are in each range starting with Ouverture up to the hand-blown Sommeliers.

Text Copyright, Daniel Primack, Around Wine.

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