Coupe Comeback

It seemed in poor taste to be prattling on about champagne while half of San Diego County, where I live, was on fire. But now that most of the fire threat has passed, bring on the bubbly!

It seems that old-school champagne glasses, either called coupes or saucers, are making a comeback. Articles in both Food & Wine and the egalitarian Family Circle have touted the return of this retro style of glass. Uber-designer Marc Jacobs is leading the way, with his collections of crystal glasses for Waterford. Two of the designs I liked best -- the Elizabeth and the Irene -- were out of stock, though the Colette with its graceful swirl was available for $59.50 a stem.

The couple fell out of favor because its shallowness makes the bubbles in champagne disspate quickly. And like the martini glass, it's easy to wind up with half your drink on the floor.

Then again, as this Orrefors shot shows, the coupe is a beautifully simple shape, that has a feminine grace to it, as opposed to the tall champagne flute, which is definitely masculine. Though girly, snopes.com says its quite unlikely that the coupe was modeled after the breast of either Marie Antoinette or Madame Pompadour, as legend goes.


One tittilating tale they don't disprove is the one about the prospective dancers for the Folies Bergere. The story goes that dancers whose breasts fit inside the glass had a shot of making the topless revue, those who overflowed were out of luck.