Comments on: Champagne fact & fiction

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:25:15 +0000

Does storing champagne upright in a refrigerator (~35 degrees) have any negative effects? Is there a length of storage time that is too long in the fridge? Does laying it down vs upright make any difference?

By: Celebrate! Celebrate! Let’s Open Some… « Talk-A-Vino

Celebrate! Celebrate! Let’s Open Some… « Talk-A-Vino — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:44:07 +0000

[...] You can find articles and blog posts about Champagne everywhere – here is a good example, post by Dr. Vino. Well, let’s join the conversation about [...]

By: Good Reads Wednesday « Artisan Family of Wines

Good Reads Wednesday « Artisan Family of Wines — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:57:16 +0000

[...] http://www.drvino.com/2010/12/21/champagne-sweet-flutes-fact-fiction/ [...]

By: Stonedwino

Stonedwino — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 20:26:52 +0000

“Does champagne go to your head faster because of the bubbles It does indeed… Carbonation does indeed accelerate the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream according to hepatology studies, among other influencing factors. We also tend to drink Champagne on a relatively empty stomach and that will certainly make it go to your head that much faster too…

By: Guglielmo Rocchiccioli

Guglielmo Rocchiccioli — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 02:51:43 +0000

I would like to recommend one of my favourite Champagne with its tasting notes.

CHAMPAGNE LARMANDIER-BERNIER BLANC DE BLANCS – PREMIER CRU – ELABORÉ PAR LAMANDIER-BERNIER À 51 VERTUS – PRODUCE OF FRANCE 12,5 %

VISUAL ANALYSIS: brilliant, intense straw yellow and as regards the effervescence the bubbles are fine, numerous and persistent

OLFACTORY ANALYSIS: at the beginning, it is possible to identify the citrus fruit and if you bring the glass at the nose, you will receive a good portion of the flavour of carbon dioxide. The rest of the olfactory bouquet is composed by sponge cake, hazelnut, peanuts, toasting scent, green banana, lemon leaf, whitethorn and lemon flower.

GUSTATIVE ANALYSIS: elegant, harmonic and balanced. It does not exist a substance or a sensation which prevails on the other; the final is lemon flavoured. The gustative persistence is about 4 seconds.

WINE-FOOD COMBINATION: aperitif with finger food

MY PERSONAL OPINION: a good champagne which exceeds a little bit in the sensation of carbon dioxide, due to the fact that the liqueur de tirage is full of sugar substances residue which confers more carbon dioxide odour and much more alcohol. The champagne arrives at the mouth with a velvet touch like a true blanc de blancs and therefore it is not so effervescent at the palate as the pinot noir was present in the grape blend.

Making reference to the champagne comparison, this champagne is better than a Pommery and G.H. Mumm, but quite far from a Egly-Ouriet and Philpponnat. It is a well-made product that i does not exceed, partly because the price is too high.

By: Debra Meiburg MW

Debra Meiburg MW — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 01:10:51 +0000

Jim, thank you! Would you extrapolate this to mean that sipping sparkling water would cause tonight’s Peking Duck to release into my small intestine more quickly as well? Is that hard on the digestive system?
Debra
http://www.DebraMasterofWine.com

By: Todd Trzaskos

Todd Trzaskos — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:25:28 +0000

New Years Day, day-long brunch: we’ll be pouring bubbly into pilsner glasses, over a muddled clementine…
Cheers!

By: Jim Lapsley

Jim Lapsley — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:02:55 +0000

Let me jump in on the carbonation/blood alcohol issue. Any variable that speeds alcohol uptake into the small intestine, where it is absorbed into the blood stream, will result in a higher blood alcohol peak. Since the alcohol must clear the stomach (although some alcohol is broken down by gastric alcohol dehydrogenase–the so-called “first pass metabolism), the slower the alcohol goes from the stomach, via the pyloric valve, to the small intestine, the lower the blood alcohol peak (although the longer the period of alcohol in the blood stream). The pyloric valve closes when you have eaten food, enabling the gastric juices to break down the food in your stomach. But carbonation causes the valve to open, thus releasing the contents of the stomach into the small intestine. That is why alcoholic drinks with carbonation get released faster than drinks without carbonation, resulting in a slightly higher BAC peak.

By: Debra Meiburg MW

Debra Meiburg MW — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:27:21 +0000

Yep, 1WineDude, agreed. The impact with bubbly was just a quicker dizzy and even then at only the equivalent of 0.5% higher alcohol. Apparently the effect with spirits is more evident. Must be reason why I haven’t touched brandy-and-coke since I was a child…

Debra
http://www.DebraMasterofWine.com

By: 1WineDude

1WineDude — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:20:14 +0000

“Does champagne go to your head faster because of the bubbles? ”

Actually, there *is* some evidence (sorry I don’t recall the study!) that suggests that the bubbles may, in fact, speed up some alcohol absorption. However, if memory serves me correctly, the impact is minimal and it’s more likely a psychosomatic effect.

Cheers!

By: Debra Meiburg MW

Debra Meiburg MW — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:02:47 +0000

I’m with Wink! A few years back I glanced at several research docs supporting the bubbles-drive-it-into-the blood-stream effect. If memory serves (don’t count on it!) the instant-giddiness was studied both by the soft drinks and spirits sectors. Having assumed it’s true, I’ve wondered ever since whether sipping sparkling water in tandem with wine will have the same effect. Wine slammers, anyone?

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:19:16 +0000

others famous sparkling wines in Italy are Ferrari’s wines. have you ever drunk them?

By: Wink Lorch

Wink Lorch — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:01:40 +0000

Hi Tyler

Thanks for the link which states “The use of a carbonated mixer had varying effects on the alcohol absorption rate. 14/21 subjects absorbed the alcohol with the carbonated mixer at a faster rate” – that seems like a clear 2/3rds majority to me so can’t be all fiction.

My description of the Tequila Slammer was not accurate, having looked it up – it is made usually with lemon juice and most importantly with any carbonated drink – sparkling water to 7UP to Champagne, and then ‘slammed’ on the table to mix the ingredients before downing.

By: Franco Ziliani

Franco Ziliani — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:10:36 +0000

Hi Alder, some corrections to your words “Bubblies from Italy are mostly Prosecco”. Here in Italy we have several sparkling wines and the most interesting are “méthode champenoise”, not only “Charmat method” like Prosecco. You must taste, produced with Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot blanc grapes (with different mix of grapes in every area) Franciacorta Docg, Trento Doc, Oltrepò Pavese Docg, Alta Langa Docg. Also in South Tyrol they produced excellent mountain sparkling
You can find many informations about Italian sparkling wines (only in Italian language, sorry!) in my new blog, Lemilleblolleblog http://www.lemillebolleblog.it
kindest regards and Happy Christmas to you and to your readers!
Franco

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:32:36 +0000

Hi Wink,

I’m not familiar with the art of slamming tequila. But seems as if there are several variables that would influence intoxication rate such as metabolism, body mass, fatigue level prior to drinking, the degree of alcohol in the beverages, and the quantity consumed.

Here’s one study that showed carbonation to have no clear effect on increasing blood alcohol levels:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17720590

Best,

Tyler