TV shows, movies, and broadcasted high profile social events mostly present people enjoying the luxurious drink a certain way. But is it correct? Learn about how to hold a champagne glass properly, respecting international etiquette.
Champagne Flute Vs. Champagne Coupe
The Looks
Let us provide you with a quick comparison. The champagne flute is a skinny glass with a long stem and generally narrow bowl. On the other hand, the champagne coupe is usually shorter than the flute, with a wide round but not too tall bowl. Describing the stemware in its classic design, there are always new designs of stemware coming out, so it’s not a surprise if a coupe glass is the same height as a flute.
Looking stylish, many new stemware designs are very elegant and desirable. The only type a sophisticated lady should stay away from is stemless glass. That includes stemless wine glass too. You are forced to leave fingerprints all over the bowl, which is most certainly not elegant, nor classy. The glassware should reflect the quality of the champagne or wine. We would rather order a cocktail than drink a high-quality wine beverage from a stemless glass.
The Taste
For a bold taste, we recommend the enjoy your champagne from a coupe. Champagne is not just bubbles – it’s an excellent body of the wine. Champagne coupe gives you a better opportunity to experience the full flavor for a reason. Holding the coupe class the popular way as we will describe later in this article, slightly warms up the champagne, helping the bubbles escape faster, revealing more taste of the wine.
On the contrary, the champagne flute is more recommended for champagnes that don’t have such full bodies, and a couple of degrees up or down matter. The narrow tall bowl forces the flow of bubbles, resulting in a more concentrated scent, which matters for many champagnes.
How To Hold a Champagne Glass
1. By the stem (classic way)
Recommended for the champagne flute, this way of holding a champagne flute keeps your fingers and palm nowhere near the bowl. Often called the only proper way, it doesn’t raise the temperature of the champagne, and you can sip your fancy beverage longer without running out of bubbles.
Additionally, you don’t leave visible fingerprints on your glass, making it neater.
Simply hold the stem of the flute in between your thumb in facing your body, pointer, and middle finger facing the public. Rest your ring finger and pinkie on the stem for more stability. You can hold the flute on the lower part of the stem too, resting your pinkie on the base. It’s not unusual to see this way of holding a flute, and it keeps away your hand’s temperature from the glass.
PRO TIP: never stick your pinkie out, it’s pretentious and often considered a sign of middle class.
2. The modern way
Often referred to as the elegant way in many blog posts from authors who saw a word etiquette only defined in Wikipedia. We can see why it could be elegant – it showcases the
feminine silhouettes of a woman’s wrist and fingers – but other than that there’s nothing elegant about it.
We don’t want to trash this way of holding a champagne glass by any means; it is a proper way how to hold a champagne coupe. The fingers supporting the coupe’s bowl allow the champagne to fully reveal its flavor by slightly raising its temperature. Plus, it keeps the glass more stable in your hand. Keep in mind that holding a champagne flute this way is not quite proper (the greasy fingerprints).
Here is a short how-to: your thumb, pointer, and middle finger on the lower part of the bowl, your ring finger, and pinkie partially wrapped around the upper stem. Remember, champagne coupe only.
Additional Advice
- If you know nothing about the champagne you are about the drink, the classic way of holding the glass never goes out of style, whether it’s a couple or a flute glass.
- If you wear lipstick, always drink from the same spot on the rim (top of the glass). An elegant lady never has lipstick stains all over her glass.