Sip, don’t guzzle, from the bottle

Thank the fashion set for this elegant little invention -- the mini flute. It was developed by Moet after the company’s winemakers discovered their precious libation was being sipped through straws or (quelle horreur!) swigged from the bottle. In both cases, the drinker gets too much CO2 from the fizz, ruining the flavor. Models, who popularized this practice while killing time backstage at fashion shows, were the chief offenders.

“The problem is, if you drink directly from the bottle you don’t appreciate it,” said Moet senior brand manager Victoria Pell. “The champagne gushes out, spills on you, and the bubbles go straight into your throat. The tasting experience is quite bad.”

So to salvage the champagne-sipping experience, the plastic mini-flute attachment -- for splits only -- was introduced late last year at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles and the fall fashion shows in Paris, Milan and New York. Now they’re turning up at parties everywhere. “It’s a more individual approach to drinking champagne,” says Pell.

-- Gina Piccalo