Fly the coupe

The origin of the coupe glass is frequently attributed, with a smirk, to Marie Antoinette and her left breast. It’s not true but when the alternative is a Benedictine monk in seventeenth century England, it’s easy to see why this myth has been so enduring.

Yet despite this saucy origin story, the saucer shaped coupe is often maligned in favour of the flute, which highlights the bubbles of Champagne. That’s all very well but the coupe has its own advantages.

Number one: you can build a tower.

Stack coupe on coupe and pour from above to create a fountain of bubbles cascading downwards into every glass; it’s a mesmerising display, and decadent too. What we’re fond of is how the coupe glass then slots comfortably into the hand when you’re reclining on a sofa, or at a Roman dinner.

However, it’s not the most practical option if you’re after a more low-key drink. In this case the coupe comes into its own with sparkling wines that have a gentler fizz.

While Prosecco is often ‘spumante’ or fully sparkling, you can find ‘frizzante’ versions, which have a gentle effervescence. This style is found in bottles which have a normal cork closure with a piece of string tied across.

So if you’re looking for a gentler alternative for an aperitif, this is a great option. And at the other end of things, the low alcohol and sweet Moscato d’Asti is, in our opinion, a delicious way to round everything off with its soft sparkle. Whisper it quietly, it’s also a top brunch tipple. In both cases, these wines look alluring in the right coupe, such as the etched ones above from &klevering.

Let’s not forget, in all this talk about wine, that the coupe is also a superb cocktail glass and every household should have a set for, amongst many others, the spontaneous espresso martini (delicious!) or Aviation, with its beguiling and elegant purple colour. When made well, the coupe shows off the colour of a cocktail, though we should probably add that when experiments go wrong, in our experience, the cocktail can look like a murky pond. But this shouldn’t be a problem for budding mixologists out there.

So there you go: plenty of reasons to fly the coop of the same old glassware and mix it up with the coupe!