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A champagne pyramid performed by professionals becomes the highlight of a solemn event (especially a wedding) and delights guests. The fashion for multi-tiered slides of glasses of sparkling wine spread over a hundred years ago thanks to Hollywood films about the life of secular society, but spectacular and spectacular entertainment remains popular to this day. Next, we will figure out when the champagne slide first appeared and whether it is possible to make it yourself.
How did the glass pyramids appear?
It is impossible to build a champagne pyramid from wine glasses – narrow flute vessels that are considered optimal for tasting champagne. For the construction of fountains, coupe glasses are used, the fashion for which came from France after the 1770s. In the future, the bowl changed more than once, but the general pattern was preserved. Glasses in the form of a bowl do not hold bubbles well and heat up quickly, but they are stable and make it possible to create multi-storey buildings.
It is not known for certain who was the first to make a pyramid of champagne glasses, but the description of the design is first found in the book of the French writer Louis Lurin “Physiology of Champagne Wines”. The collection was published in 1841 and was co-authored with Philippe Buvier. The publication contains anecdotes and interesting stories related to sparkling wine. Among other entertainments, the authors describe the game of “pyramids”, common in the homes of wealthy Frenchmen.
The fun was that two slides were built on the table, in the bottom row of which four to eight glasses were placed, after which all the containers were filled with champagne. The players had two tasks: to drink wine and build a pyramid out of empty vessels. The winner was the one who managed to empty the glasses the fastest without destroying any of the structures. During the competition, the guests cheered up the competitors with cheerful songs.
According to another version, the tradition of building pyramids from champagne appeared at the Russian imperial court. The structure was called a cascade or a fountain, since sparkling wine was poured into the upper glass, and from where the foamy stream rushed into all other vessels. After the end of the First World War, glass pyramids became an attribute of the beautiful life in Hollywood cinema and were popular at the wild social parties of the 1920s.
Currently, champagne glass pyramids can be found at weddings, ceremonial receptions and public events. Bartenders learn the art of their construction in special courses, and professionals compete to create the world’s largest structures in an effort to get into the Guinness Book of Records.
Another achievement was recorded in 2017, when a group of enthusiasts created a pyramid of 50 glasses 7,26 meters high. The event was held in Madrid with the participation of specialists from the Moët & Chandon champagne house.
Types of pyramids from glasses
Slides of champagne are built by professional bartenders. As a rule, experts use special stable glasses that do not differ in appearance from ordinary ones. Mobile bars organize spectacular shows with illumination and artificial smoke, which turns the champagne show into a mesmerizing spectacle. Glass towers are decorated with rose petals, fresh flowers and fruits.
The ideal pyramid is considered to be created taking into account the number of guests present at the holiday. The base can be a square or a triangle, which makes the structure stable and symmetrical. Square slides consist of 6-13 tiers, triangular ones are not so massive. During the show, the bartender pours champagne, starting from the top glass. Virtuosos know how to direct the flow of sparkling wine in such a way that it will fill all the glasses without spilling on the table.
Types of structures:
- mini – pyramids up to 5 to 7 tiers for 30-50 guests;
- standard – from 5 to 10 tiers, designed for companies up to 200 people;
- king size – 13 or more tiers for 400-500 guests.
The cost of bartender services depends on the complexity of the task. The construction of a five-tier pyramid with a base of six glasses will cost 6-7 thousand rubles, the price of large-scale structures with rich decoration reaches 100 thousand rubles or more. Champagne is bought separately at the rate of 7 bottles for 36 glasses.
The success of the show depends on the professionalism of the organizers. In 2019, a video from the corporate holiday of Sberbank in honor of March 8 spread around social networks. The bartender hit one of the glasses with the neck of the bottle, after which the whole structure collapsed and broke. However, the incident did not spoil the mood of the guests. As a rule, when building pyramids of a record size, champagne is poured from a lift to avoid such incidents.
How to make a do-it-yourself champagne pyramid
Building a champagne slide is easy if you know a number of tricks. One of the conditions for success is the presence of completely identical coupe glasses. Mixed-sized dishes cannot be used, since the design simply will not hold. The basis must be a solid, stable and perfectly flat surface. The easiest way is to make a square pyramid, for example, from 16 glasses at the base.
Procedure:
- Make the first tier of four rows of glasses.
- Make sure the walls fit snugly together.
- In the second and subsequent rows, place the base of the glass at the point where the bowls meet.
- In the penultimate row, 4 glasses should remain, forming a square.
- Place the last glass in the center of the tower.
Start pouring chilled champagne into the top glass. If everything is done correctly, the wine will overflow and fill all the containers up to the first tier. A tower of 26 coupe glasses will require six standard bottles of sparkling wine.
Cider or carbonated wine drink will look no less impressive.