Every year, just before New Year's Eve, we get a small rush of customers buying champagne and cocktail glasses for their last night gatherings. It seems they are resolved to up-their-game before the clock strikes twelve.
Above, see a set of eight (plus one) handsome crystal champagne or cocktail stems. Made in the years just after World War Two, they have a corseted, "tulip form" bowl—which provides visual tension to the design and slows the release of the champagne's bubbles. The softly-curving lip makes the glass a pleasure (and a little easier) to drink from. And the faceted stem gives the glass a "crisp handfeel," making it easier to control the vessel. A stem, of course, prevents the transfer of warmth (from one's hand) to the bowl (and its contents).
Beware: aficionadoes can prove very fussy (and adamant) about the type of glass in which one should serve sparkling wines. The truth is, there are several legitimate options—and the "on-trend" choice has changed several times over the centuries. When sparkling wines were first invented in the Sixteenth Century, flute-like drinking ware was most common (a shape which can be found as far back as the Roman Era). The first champagne "saucers" (initially called "tazzas") were first created in the 17th Century by a Venetian glassmaker working in Greenwich, England. They became popular in France and, later, Victorian England where they were re-named "coupes." In America, coupes became popular with the Art Deco period and into the Mid-Twentieth Century. In America, in the Eighties, television shows like Dynasty helped repopularize the flute as the champagne glass of choice.
It is true that the shape of the glass will have a marginal effect on the behavior of the sparkling wine. But, perhaps, such a benefit will be null if one drinks his glass of champagne more quickly. A wide saucer (coupe) is elegant, but it will encourage the bubbles to dissipate more quickly. A long flute will conserve the bubbles (a minute or two longer), but many find drinking from a flute difficult and pretentious (think Jackie Collins). If one wants to enjoy the "nose" of the champagne, a regular wine glass is the right choice. And, if one wants a stylish vintage look, with a glass which slows the release of gas and keeps the champagne cool, a cocktail glass (like those shown above) is the right choice—and it also may be used to serve other mixed drinks on the other 354 days of the year!
Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome set of glasses.
Perhaps you'd like to hear the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald's rendition of What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? If so, please CLICK HERE.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.