Clinking glasses, and making a toast
Looking people in the eye, never drinking to your own health, knowing when not to clink: the gestures surrounding a raised glass, and what they say about us.
Raising a glass seems the simplest of gestures. We do it without thinking, at aperitif time, at the start of a dinner, for a birthday. Yet it is one of the moments when Europeans watch each other most closely, and when small blunders are noticed at once.
Holding your glass
It all starts with how you hold it. A stemmed glass is held by the foot or the stem, not the bowl. The reason is practical before it is aesthetic: the warmth of your hand heats the wine, and fingers leave marks on the glass that prevent you from admiring its colour. Swirl the wine gently to aerate it, without exaggeration. The gesture quickly becomes showy.
Look them in the eye
Among friends, you clink while looking each person in the eye, glass after glass, without crossing arms with other guests. Europeans care a great deal about this detail, in Germany and Central Europe even more than in France: clinking while looking elsewhere passes for inattention, and a stubborn superstition even holds that it brings years of bad luck.
Wait until everyone has clinked with their neighbours before taking the first sip, and do not put your glass down without having drunk from it.
When not to clink
At the most formal dinners, glasses are not clinked. You simply raise yours to eye level towards the person being toasted, then drink. Knocking fine crystal is considered risky and a little noisy. The safest rule: if the hostess does not clink, you do not clink.
Making a toast
A toast is made standing on grand occasions, seated at a dinner among friends. To attract attention, avoid tapping your glass with a piece of cutlery, which can damage it: simply stand up, or wait for a silence. A toast should be short, sincere and warm. An anecdote, a thank-you, a wish, and a simple sentence inviting everyone to raise their glass.
And if the toast is addressed to you, do not drink: one never drinks to one’s own health. Thank everyone with a smile, then you may reply with a toast of your own.
| Country | When raising a glass |
|---|---|
| France | Santé, or À la vôtre |
| Italy | Salute, or Cin cin |
| Spain | Salud |
| Germany | Prost, or Zum Wohl |
| United Kingdom | Cheers |
| Nordic countries | Skål |
In Hungary, tradition says you do not clink glasses of beer. According to legend, Austrian officers celebrated the execution of the Hungarian generals of the 1848 revolution by knocking their tankards together. The vow not to clink beer for a hundred and fifty years expired long ago, but the habit persists.
Declining politely
You can decline a drink without explaining yourself. A simple “No thank you, not for me” is enough, and nobody need insist. For the toast, raise your glass of water: the gesture matters more than what it contains. And if you do not want a refill, leave a little wine in your glass rather than covering it with your hand.
A good toast is short. People remember the line, not the length.
