 Read any book on wine glasses or an online Article by a wine expert (believe me, I have read hundreds!) and you will know the reasons why you must use stemware for wine- the glasses with long stems and big bowls to get the best of Olfactory experience. Riedel even went to the extent of designing different glasses for different varietals and shot to fame and riches with many bigger glass producers obliged to follow suit.
I was stumped in 2002 when I learnt of the launch of ‘O’ Series by Riedel -glasses with no stems as if the stem was chopped off and the glass flattened so it could be placed steady on the table. All the fundamentals about swirling to get better aromas, avoiding holding the main glass with dirty hands while holding in hand, the elegant appearance holding by the base, were simply set aside overnight. Less breakage, ease in packing, storage and the need as a sophisticated partyware in contrast to stemware came in vogue due to a massive marketing campaign by Riedel and today it has become a respected part of the fashion wine accessory although I find it more useful as a water glass.
The Article by a respectable MW journalist Anne Krebiehl for a creditable magazine like decanter is interesting but debatable over a glass of Krug, Taittinger, VCP or an MC. Personally I see the repeat of the O series all over when she quotes, ‘Neither am I alone in shunning the flute. Maximilian Riedel, CEO of esteemed glass maker Riedel Crystal, previously told Decanter.com that his goal was to make Champagne flutes ‘obsolete’. It makes a lot of business sense for Riedel which can clock huge fresh sales for the new designed glasses. In fact, I am waiting for the next innovation from Riedel that outdates all the existing series of wine glasses so that the Gen Next may invest totally in the new series.
Anne quotes Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar master atLouis Roederer: ‘Our Champagne style needs aeration to fully demonstrate its potential, so we often use white wine glasses. Some 25 years ago we even developed our own tulip glasses, which were larger than the flute.’ Hugh Davies, CEO and winemaker at Schramsberg Vineyards, one of California’s foremost sparkling wine producers, agrees: ‘In making our sparkling wines we envisage a finished product that offers an extraordinary aroma, palate and visual impression. While the classic, narrow flute is commonly used and offers a beautiful display of effervescence, it can inhibit our ability to explore the depth of aroma and flavour in that wine.’
‘Flutes replaced the saucers (champagne coupes) believed by the gullible to have been designed after the breasts of Marie Antoinette, are popular because they showcase tiny, rising bubbles perfectly – the enduring and visual appeal of sparkling wine’s refreshing power. Many flutes even have a discreet nucleation point etched into their inner base to create a steady, vertical stream of fizz.’
‘The flute also has other advantages: it preserves the effervescence that so easily dissipates in coupes and saucers. It is also much harder to spill your precious bubbles in a flute, while its serving size is ideal for parties. However, the shape doesn’t do justice to fine fizz.’
Last year in April, Elise Losfelt, a fourth generation winemaker at Moet & Chandon, visited Delhi to promote the Moet Ice Imperial. When I asked her at the tasting which glass she prefers for pouring champagne, she said, ‘ I am not a fan of flutes anyway. With the flute you can get an unpleasant whiff of carbon dioxide on your nose and with the short rim, you tend to have the liquid touch the middle of the palate and not the front so you miss out a little on the full flavours .’ But when I asked her the continued use of flutes as I had seen during my recent visit to Champagne wineries like Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Taittinger, Don Caudron and Drappier she said , ‘we also use flutes in our champagne house to serve to  visitors as commercially they are so widely accepted that it is difficult to explain to them that white wine glasses are in fact better.’ Needless to say the ice-champagne was served in a white wine glass, not only because it would be silly to pour 6 small cubes of ice in a flute.
I have been noticing the slow changing trend (fashion?!) during the last 2-3 years at international wine competitions as a judge. In some of them (not all), there is a gradual increase of white wine glass usage (there are hardly any tulips or other special shaped glasses used) and where flutes are used we let the first few whiffs go to the atmosphere directly before nosing the wine. But at parties and banquets (where the dust collecting saucers/coupes are still put to use often) in India one finds invariably and increasingly the use of flutes.
The crux of her Article comes out rather innocuously as it starts with ‘Anne Krebiehl MW explains why you should invest in your glassware this year’. It seems to be all about investment in fresh glasses. I do have plenty of flutes and white wine glasses and if need be I shall use white wine glasses which I have been already using for a couple of years when drinking champagne or sparkling wine-as much as the regular flutes. I don’t plan to invest in them in 2016. But if you are still using the saucers, that would be a shame. If you don’t have flutes, here is the opportunity to throw the coupes in the dustbin and keep a copy of the Decanter Article to show that flutes are out-white wine glasses are in.
For me though, ‘The Flute is dead…Long Live the Flute.’
Subhash Arora |