Red, Red Wine

Red, red wine
Go to my head
Make me forget that I
Still need her so…

Familiar lyrics to most, and perhaps even more familiar to those of you who have overindulged in the alluring liquor. Surely this includes most, if not all of us If it’s not already clear, I’m talking about hangovers. But why exactly do we get hangovers from drinking ‘too much’ wine? And, especially when considering red wine, why are wine hangovers said to be significantly worse than other hangovers?

There are three main offenders when it comes to wine hangovers. The first and most obvious being alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates the body, shrinking the brain slightly resulting in headaches and that characteristic dry mouth the next morning. But alcohol is present in all alcoholic beverages (Duh!), so what sets wine hangovers apart from others?

‘…you feel like you’ve woken up with a sock in your mouth and a jackhammer for a pillow…’

The remaining two culprits, which make you feel like you’ve woken up with a sock in your mouth and a jackhammer for a pillow, are two nasty chemicals. The first group, called congeners, are by-products of alcoholic fermentation and amplify many hangover symptoms. They are more predominant in red wines, hence the associated notion that red wine causes worse hangovers when compared to white wine.

The second chemical, sulphur dioxide, is used by winemakers to slow down fermentation and thus ultimately functions as a wine preservative. Unfortunately for us it also results in thumping headaches. So, if you want to minimise your hangover, try drinking wines with relatively low sulphur contents.

But, if you want a simple, fail-safe way to avoid those dreadful hangovers, do as I do. For every glass of wine I drink, I try drink a glass of water. This makes you less thirsty, so not to drink out of thirst only, and replenishes lost water. It’s a simple solution with rewarding results! This method is preventative, but I’ve also heard some pretty outrageous hangover ‘remedies’ too. What’s your hangover ‘cure’? The friends and family of My Wine Cellar deserve to know, so please share your wisdom with us by commenting below.

Cheers!

Brandon Marc