PARIS, Feb 9 — A team of French researchers may have put to rest an ongoing debate on whether bubbly is best served in a flute glass or its wide-brimmed, shallow cousin, the coupe. Their verdict? Neither.    

After using thermal infrared imaging to measure the amount of gaseous compounds in the space above the champagne — also known as the headspace — scientists from Reims found a much higher concentration of carbon dioxide and ethanol when the bubbly was poured into a flute glass, as opposed to a coupe.

While the flute is the better alternative for preserving effervescent bubbles, higher concentrations of CO2 above the flute can also irritate the nose and influence the way drinkers perceive and evaluate aromas — a finding that could be particularly important for champagne tastings, said study co-author Gérard Liger-Belair in an interview with Relaxnews.

“The flute is better for aromas, because the narrower the glass, the more it concentrates aromas,” he said. “The problem is, if you concentrate aromas, you also get too much CO2.”

The study was published online on PLoS One on February 8.

Meanwhile, the inverse is also true of the coupe, a short, shallow glass with a wide opening which was the vessel of choice for serving champagne throughout the 1960s.

Stemware with wide openings may minimise the off-gassing effects of CO2 which irritate the nose, but they can also dilute the aromas altogether, Liger-Belair said.

His verdict? 

“A good shape would be something in the middle between the flute and the coupe,” he said.

That’s the same conclusion over at oenopohileblog.com which expounds on the virtues of the tulip glass for allowing champagne to fully express its aromatic qualities. The tulip is described as a tall glass that curves outwards a few inches from the mouth before rounding back in, a silhouette that maximises the surface-to-air space and encourages aeration.

“This design allows a little more space for swirling, and focuses the aromatics more towards the nose,” writes wine blogger Manos Angelakis. 

Meanwhile, in another study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Liger-Belair's team also found that pouring champagne like beer — angled and down the side — was the best way to maximise bubbles. — AFP-Relaxnews