The tall, slender trumpet-like flute glass has for decades reigned as the festively best way to serve bubbly. However, other styles are giving the flute competition — and for good reason.

"The biggest mistake people make is forgetting champagne is a wine," said Victoria Moore of London, the wine writer for the Guardian newspaper and author of "How to Drink" (Andrews McMeel, $19). The 330-page book contains nonalcoholic and alcoholic drink recipes accented with letterpress graphics.

Not to burst any bubbles, but after experimenting, Moore discovered the best way to experience premium champagne is with ordinary wine glasses.

"You can experience the wonderful bready smell and taste of champagne from a wine glass," said Moore in a telephone interview. "That's good news if you don't have the budget to go and buy different types of glasses for every kind of drink. But any glass you have should feel nice in your hands and look beautiful on the table. That's part of the pleasure."

Modern stemless sparkling wine glasses also are relatively inexpensive, versatile options. They're hybrids of sleek flutes and pilsner glasses, pleasing champagne tastes and beer budgets.

"Stemless flutes are good if there's a juice component to the drink, like the Bellini," said Maria Hunt of California, author of "The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion" (Clarkson Potter, $17) and the blog www.thebubblygirl.com. "They're also great in place of Tom Collins glasses."

Hunt also is seeing the saucer-shaped champagne coupe (pronounced "coop") make a comeback. Stylish films such as Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" (2006) and television series like AMC's "Mad Men" are inspiring designers. Calvin Klein, Kate Spade and Marc Jacobs carry coupes in their collections.

"The return of coupes is synonymous with the return of the classic cocktail, and coupes are fun to look at in old movies," Hunt said. "But the shape is tricky since it's wide and shallow. It allows the bubbles to dissipate quickly."

On the plus side, the coupe's bubble-bursting design can slow the effects of alcohol, according to Hunt. Typically, the tiny bubbles (CO2) in champagne speed up the absorption of alcohol in the body.

A few months ago, Soodie Beasley of Kansas City, Mo., blogged about coupe glasses and the legend that they commemorate the breasts of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV.

Others say the shallow-bowl-shaped coupe was modeled after the shape of Marie Antoinette's left breast. Actually, the coupe was designed for a sweet dessert-wine-style champagne before the ladies' time.

"I prefer the look of the coupe," said Beasley, an independent decorative arts and furniture appraiser and interior architect. "Flutes, the extra tall ones anyway, remind me of big hair and the 1980s and '90s."

But Beasley says no matter the bubbly inside, few things say celebration like champagne glasses and clinking them together.

"You don't even think about it," Beasley said. "You toast to something and make it a party."

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COUPE

The saucer-shape glasses have been around for centuries but had fallen out of popularity in recent decades because of their bubble-bursting tendency. Another fizzle: The shallow design results in frequent spillage. But designers have brought them back because of their chic retro style.

Best for: Serving dessert, especially those that contain a float or splash of champagne.

FLUTE

Trumpet-shape stems have been the go-to glasses for champagne and sparkling wine for decades. Their appearance alone says celebration.

Best for: Toasting and moderately priced champagnes and sparkling wines and cocktails made with champagne.

Orrefors Helena flutes, $100 per pair, Halls Plaza, 211 Nichols Road

ECLECTIC

Unusual-shaped champagne glasses look beautiful and add a fresh twist to classic champagne cocktails.

Best for: Cocktails made with champagne and special occasions.

Pythagore by J.L.Coquet flute, $85, Halls Plaza

TULIP

The design allows more space for swirling and focuses the aromatics more toward the nose than the classic flutes, wine writers say. The tulip silhouette also showcases bubbles.

Best for: Premium champagnes and sparkling wines (bottle shown is Pierre Peters Champagne Brut Rose for Albane, $70, Cellar Rat, 1701 Baltimore Ave.)

Riedel Vitis tulip glasses, $70 per pair, www.amazon.com

WINE

Winemakers don't serve their champagnes or sparkling wines in flutes or coupes because it tastes better in regular wine glasses, says spirits writer Victoria Moore of London, author of "How to Drink" (Andrews McMeel, $19). Moore uses her regular wine glasses for champagne.

Best for: Any type of wine, including sparkling varieties.

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CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

Makes 1 serving

1 sugar cube

7 to 8 drops Angostura bitters

Cognac

Champagne

1 strip orange zest for garnish

Soak the sugar cube with the bitters and place in the bottom of the champagne glass. Pour just enough cognac into the glass to cover the sugar. Top the mixture with champagne, which froths the moment it hits the sugar. Add the orange zest. Drink at once.

No need to measure with this classic. Just judge by the glass.

"The patrician scent of the cognac conspires with the luxury of the champagne and the tang of the orange peel to make a drink that is heady, celebratory, delicious. ... Even so, I wouldn't waste anything special on this — certainly not vintage and not even a special nonvintage."

Victoria Moore in her book "How to Drink"

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LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON

Makes 1 serving

2 ounces tangerine juice (see note)

1 ounce rosewater (see note)

2 fresh mint leaves

4 ounces dry champagne

Add tangerine juice and rosewater to a champagne glass. Twist the mint leaves in your fingers and drop them in the glass. Fill the glass with champagne.

Note: If your grocer doesn't have tangerines, look for a carton. We found 100 percent tangerine juice in the refrigerated aisle at Whole Foods, 7401 W. 91st St., Overland Park. At the same store, we found rosewater in the health-and-beauty section. Rosewater also can be found in Middle Eastern markets.

"The piquant flavor of tangerine, combined with cooling mint and calming rosewater, makes this cocktail ideal for a relaxing, dreamy midday potion."

Maria Hunt wrote in her book "The Bubbly Bar" (CLARKSon Potter, $17)

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A CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINE TASTING PARTY

These ideas are fun for Valentine's Day gatherings of single girlfriends, couples or just you and your main squeeze.

Conduct taste tests using different types of glasses and bubbly. Don't shy away from blush-colored rose champagnes and sparkling wines. Many feature a sophisticated taste as well as a beautiful pinkish hue.

Using a dropper, pre-flavor sugar cubes with different flavors — Grand Marnier, pomegranate liqueur and absinthe, for example — so guests can build their own champagne cocktails.

Use wine regions as your guide for food pairings: Soft, French cheeses for champagne, marcona almonds and dried chorizo for Spanish cava, and prosciutto and hard Italian cheeses with prosecco.

A toast to friends: "Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends."

A toast to your lover: "May we kiss when we please, and please when we kiss."

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A BIT ABOUT THE BUBBLY

Champagne: Refers to sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of wine to create carbonation. The method was developed in the Champagne region of France, which gave it its name. Other sparkling wines made in the champagne method are produced in the U.S. and around the world, such as prosecco (referring to the grape) in Italy and cava (referring to cellar) in Spain.

Brut (pronounced "brute"): A French term that refers to dry champagne with little residual sugar.

Toast: The term is thought to come from the spiced toast that would float in champagne to add flavor. Guests would drink sips from a shared cup and the host, the last to drink, would eat the toast. The clinking of glasses unites guests and just sounds nice.