Wine Or Champagne Glass What Is The Difference? | Fairley's Of Stirling

Picking the perfect glass for a special occasion can be a little daunting, with so many choices and fancy names and all you really want is something to be able to hold a measure of your favourite beverage.

Worry not Fairley's Of Stirling is here to give you a little helping hand, we may not be connoisseurs of every alcoholic drinks but we do know a little something about glasses. First of you may hear in all those cooking shows about pairing the perfect wines with the dishes, chefs and presenters oozing on about the sweet and savoury taste of the Roulade (disclaimer alert...I don't really know what a Roulade is but it sounds fancy and French so I am running with it) going with the fruitiness of the Merlot and the exquisite red of the wine. We have all seen a morning cooking show where it appears they are trying to sell the wine more than the recipe, but believe it or not the crystal glass is the true show stopper. The cooks and chefs can Oooh's and Ahhh's over the taste but unless they bring back Smell-O-Vision (a little 90's nostalgia moment there) we can only feast our eyes on the presentation and with a little imagination a lip-smack at the sight of a Roulade dished on a sparklingly white plate with no discernible scratches.

Choose your event-

We may have all attended a special occasion like graduation or weddings in the past (for the readers who maybe a generation or two behind the Millennial, you have time yet), there is usually an abundance of crystal clear glasses filled with a welcoming amount of wine or Champagne. The glasses for wine or Champagne if you notice will be different and that is due to the different composition requirement of wine and Champagne, Champagne lovers will undoubtedly be annoyed that they don't get the same serving size as an avid wine drinker.

Wine Not?

Let me explain in a simple layman's term, the reason why wine glasses tend to be more round with a larger opening is (drum roll...) it requires a larger volume of air to mix into the poured wine, the aroma of the wine will be steadily more apparently the longer and more oxygen is infused. You may have heard or seen your parents early in your youth opening a bottle of Merlot and letting it sit on the counter for 10 mins untouched, that is roughly the same idea to let the oxygen mix in with the bottle, but being a little more understanding now it wouldn't make much of a difference doing that now due to the narrow bottle opening. Being a wine drinker I now know that filling a wine glass to the half-way line and not to the top (more is not better in this case) is the best way to infuse as much of the oxygen and maximise the heady aroma of all those lovely little fruity smells and tannin.

 

Example of one of our Personalised Engraved Diamante Glass with 3 Swarovski Diamonds surface bonded. Click here to view the glass in our shop. 

Champagne Not? (Trying to use a little word play with 'Surely Not')

Here is a little nugget of reasoning why you do not get the same amount of sparkling wine in a glass than your wine-loving counter part, which is in a simple word 'Presentation'. I know it sounds a little Wine-ist saying that since you love the nearly soda taste of a sparkling wine like Champagne. Can you tell I do not have a refined enough palate for Champagne? The flute like shape with a narrow opening and a slight Tulip body is designed purely for presentation of the sparkles and colour, infusing too much oxygen from the environment will deplete the bubbles quicker and end the presentation sooner. In every wedding photo there will undoubtedly be Bridesmaid pictures full of sparkling and glittery Champagne on display. So next time you have a sparkling wine in a photoshoot use the correct Champagne Flute to maximise the bubble's!

Regards and Be Glassy!

Fairley's Of Stirling.

For some examples of our personalised engraved glasses you can have a little snoop here at Fairley's Of Stirling online store where we can make it a little more magical and personal. Click here to view our Wine and Flutes section.