Sparkling Wines Are Good For You

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I don’t like champagne, it always gives me a headache.” Well sure it does – all alcoholic beverages will give you one if you drink too much, right? Perhaps your most recent memory of drinking “champagne” was at a wedding reception or New Year’s Eve and you did drink too much. Be honest here = ) 

Sparkling wine makes up only 6% of US wine consumption. That tiny number hasn’t changed much in 50 years. We just don’t drink much of it, and I swear at least half of that figure must be from weddings. The Euros drink slightly more as a percentage of the market. Also keep in mind that due to the bubbles you can’t drink as much in one sitting as you might another wine. 

Part of what makes beer so fun and potent is the carbonation. Carbon dioxide acts as a booster and causes alcohol to enter the bloodstream faster. The bubbles bring on the buzz, which is why drinking beer with just 5% abv can have a strong buzz effect. If you drank wine with 5-8% alcohol it would taste weak and have very little effect. Still wine is typically 11-14% and has a similar buzz as a beer per drink – because of the CO2.  You find the same booster effect from sparkling wines as they are typically 10-11.5% alcohol. It can go right to your head in a hurry. 

Everyone has heard that in order to call wine champagne it has to be made in the Champagne region of France. The reason for this rule is solely the French chauvinists needing to be validated. The idea that their bottles are authentic and any other sparkling wine from elsewhere is inferior to theirs is simply wrong. Remember, we’re Americans and have a 1st amendment right to call it whatever the heck we want to call it! The Italians call it Prosecco. In Spain it’s called Cava. Elsewhere in France they produce a sparkling wine called Vin Mousseux. All of these delicious wines go through a second fermentation inside each heavily reinforced glass bottle. Each bottle is then re-corked before being shipped to the store. All of that time and labor (making the wine & then re-fermenting it) is primarily why they cost a few bucks more as well.

As far as what glass to serve sparkling wine in, there are also some misconceptions. Hollywood in the black & white era gave us the forever image of Cary Grant pouring champagne into a coupe glass.

The shallow bowl here is really terrific for fancy cocktails but allows the CO2 bubbles to dissipate quickly. The shallowness also makes the champagne warm a little faster. A flute or tear-drop shape is better at holding the gas in the wine longer and keeping it slightly colder, provided you’re holding it in your hand the correct way by the handle on that glass (otherwise known as the stem). This keeps the warmth of your touch away from the cold beverage.

Cheers,
Eric