I learned something important this week. It involves sparkling wine and no hangovers. Now you’re into it, right? I’m assuming I’m not the only person to have experienced a harder time recovering the day after sipping bubbly. I also assume I’m not the only person who has always attributed that lingering headache to the fact that there is more sugar in bubbles than still wine. Well folks, I’m here to help you avoid those terrible day after scenarios. Sure, sparkling wines have a bit of residual sugar to make them palatable, if they were fermented to complete dryness nobody would want a glass as they would be too acidic to enjoy. However, the little bit of sugar isn’t what is giving you that “ohmygoodness my head might explode” scenario. The real culprit here are those bubbles we all find so fun. Those little guys are preventing you from feeling thirsty…they are actually even helping to quench your thirst, so when you drink bubbly you tend to drink less water than with other alcoholic beverages. Easy fix, right? Next time you order a glass of the pretty stuff make sure you have a glass of water within reach. Oh, and don’t drink 10 glasses, that helps too.

Listed below are the categories of sugar levels in sparkling wines. The most widely consumed are Brut and Extra Dry (also called extra sec).

• Extra Brut: very dry, less than 0.6% sugar per liter
• Brut: dry, less than 1.2% sugar per liter
• Extra Dry (or extra sec): off-dry (or barely sweet), 1.2% – 1.7% sugar per liter
• Sec: slightly sweet, 1.7% – 3.2% sugar per liter
• Demi Sec: sweet, 3.2% – 5% sugar per liter

Featured Wine: Veuve du Vernay Brut Rose, France (weirdly it wasn’t more specific), $10.00, came highly recommended by the wine steward at Safeway, tiny bubbles, dry with nice acidity but a lovely smooth finish, perfect paired with a summer salad featuring fresh produce especially fruits,  I really enjoyed it!