Champagne glasses

The perfect enjoyment requires the right glasses. A significant part of the enjoyment of champagne is determined by the scents, the bouquet. In order for a bouquet not only to develop ideally, but also to last, champagne glasses must meet certain criteria.

A sensible champagne glass is colorless, clear, thin-walled, slightly bulbous and tapering towards the top, the classic tulip shape. Champagne is never filled almost to the brim, as is known from mineral water or lemonade, but at most barely fuller than halfway up. This leaves enough room for the aromas to develop. Only in this way will it be the perfect pleasure. The higher the quality of the champagne, the larger the champagne glass may be. For this reason, the range of champagne glasses does not offer the one champagne glass, but distinguishes between standard cuvée and vintage & prestige champagne.

The history of wine and champagne glasses is completely contrary. The history of viticulture is almost as old as mankind.

In the Middle Ages for Europe was the common form of drinking cup. Although already the pointed cup (shape of a flute), then made of metal, has been known and popular from the times of Gallo-Roman culture, 3rd / 4th century.

With the invention of the art of glassblowing, a change took place, the enjoyment of wine from glasses. The oldest known find dates back to 982. Beautiful pointed goblet glasses are known from Murano. Venice, a center of early glassmaking in Europe, is largely responsible for the emergence of a new awareness of glass art and has since been considered a mecca of European glassblowing. In 1295, the glass furnaces of Venice, were banished to the small archipelago of Murano. Officially for fire safety reasons, but ultimately more likely for reasons of secrecy of glassmaking. Unauthorized disclosure of knowledge was not infrequently punished by death.

In the 16th century, the pointed goblet glass, in Europe, enjoyed great popularity. Large quantities of Murano glass were exported from Venice to the Netherlands and England. In the 18th century, the pointed goblet glass, in France and England, was widely recognized as champagne glass. It was the fashion glass for champagne.

There were already glasses in the shape of a bowl around 1663. These bowl-shaped glasses were specially created, again by Venetian glassblowers, for the Duke of Buckingham. The bowls were designed solely for drinking champagne, which was still a still wine at the time. It was only with the Benedictine monk Dom Perignon, who worked as a cellar master at Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers Abbey, that today's champagne was invented by a coincidence that initially meant more of an accident. The popularity of the bowl shape, for the champagne, grew over the course of more than 200 years, but never quite caught on.

The most famous bowls were made of Sèvres porcelain, from the 18th century. They decorated the dairy of the Château Rambouillet. Château Rambouillet was the private residence of Louis XVI, King of France and Queen Marie Antoinette from 1783. The champagne bowls gained their fame because they are said to be shaped after the bosom of Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), according to legend.

True champagne lovers would never use a champagne bowl or champagne goblet to enjoy their champagne in this day and age. Both shapes are completely unsuitable for sparkling wine, even more so for champagne. In particular, the champagne bowl, with its oversized surface, allows the bubbles to escape too quickly, the bouquet cannot be captured, and the champagne warms up much faster than necessary. If you have to choose between the two, you should go for the pointed goblet. It is also only a poor emergency solution, but the better of the two.