For the last decade, I’ve consumed red wines almost exclusively (mostly Bordeaux and Burgundy). As I begin to “age” (I’m about to turn 40), I’m eating much lighter and suddenly find that red wine seems heavy. I’ve been exploring the vast world of Champagne and find it a refreshing beverage that pairs well with various light dishes and snacks. I find this massive shift in taste unsettling and wonder if it is temporary or long-term. Has anybody else experienced something like this? If so, did it last, or did you revert to your previous preferences?
I’ve not yet had a palate shift, but plenty of folks here have.
To stave it off, try serving your reds at a cooler temperature.
On the other hand, Champagne goes with everything!
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Wonderful. Welcome to my crib! I went this path about 8 years ago. And in terms of the path turning around or reverting, it has not. In fact I drink just about exclusively Champagne now and it’s nearly my entire wine spend. I buy from one CA producer to ensure i get the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay I most enjoy drinking (KUTCH) but that is about it for non-Champagne. I don’t see this path changing and I’m likely here for the rest of the journey, my Champagne buddy and I.
Nathan…follow your instinct. Sounds to me like it’s speaking to you. Chase it.
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I literally flipped my entire cellar from reds to almost exclusively Champagne (a very few whites). Haven’t looked back, but damn; I wish it were cheaper! 
I drink pretty much only red burgs and champagne pretty evenly now.
Welcome to the club. I wish I had discovered the greatness of Champagne as a drink to be enjoyed with a meal when I was your age, rather than when I was almost 60! Ten years ago, my cellar was approx 5% Champagne; now it is 50%, and my consumption is currently 75% Champagne.
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And Nathan, to your question, there is nothing wrong with you.
When people tell me they drink only reds (and I work in finance where this happens pretty often, my thoughts on why being potentially incendiary), my flip answer is “don’t worry, you’ll grow up eventually.” 
Of course that is a joke, but there’s truth in it, too. The addition of whites and champagne to ones drinking vastly expands the landscape, and dramatically improves pairing options, in my opinion. I do think that a developing palate often broadens to include more options, more sensory stimulation, greater range of flavor. Since you seem to value the synergy of food and wine, and feel champagnes are a better match with some of what you eat more often, I suspect you will still find a place for red wine, if you still eat food that snuggles up nicely with reds. Perhaps not the biggest and boldest quite as much, but who knows? Everyone follows a different path. I wouldn’t throw out your reds yet, but enjoy the champagne now, as it has a special luster when it’s new to you.
As a point of reference, in my house we drink more whites/champagnes, but still drink plenty of reds as well. For us, it’s all about what matches best with our food, so we need a variety.
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Join the club, happened to a bunch of us it seems like this road leads to Burgundy maybe Barolo/Barbaresco and Champagne. I’m happy with that, enjoy the journey.
Wow, I never imagined this would elicit so many responses this quickly! It is reassuring to know this has happened to others. I’m definitely not going to sell my collection of reds, but I will be slowly replacing them with Champagne! What a journey this is.
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I’m 36 and I can feel it starting. We’ve gone from drinking about 2% sparkling to about 15% and that’s only not higher because of limited funds and a spouse that is just starting to come around to sparkling. I also eat less meat than I used to, which has something to do with it.
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You sure it just isn’t summer? We are doing hamburgers tonight and I really don’t feel like opening a big red. Champagne sounds great right now.
It happens. Its normal.
Like many things I find its about finding balance. I still drink lots of reds but so do I also drink lots of whites and increasingly Champagne.
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While champagne makes up a much higher portion of my purchasing and drinking these days (I largely credit La fete du champagne with giving me the chance to taste widely and find what I like) I definitely haven’t given up on reds.
Rest assured there is nothing wrong with palate shift. I wouldn’t sell all your reds just yet though, if my experience is any help at all. While I never went though a “no reds” or “no whites” phase, I did go through a “no rosé” phase, finding them all simplistic and shrill. This lasted a good decade. Last summer I declared the “summer of rosé redemption” and tried a bunch of good ones with a great deal of variety in styles (Tempier, Extradimensional Summer Salters, T Berkley, Domaine Bunan, Massimo Lentsch OMA, even a bunch of de Negoce roses) — and loved many of them. So my palate at least goes through fads, both positive and negative.
I recall long ago having a 1990 Poujeaux, with its very pronounced surmaturité. That was a new experience for me, and as a novelty I loved it and started seeking that out. Well, that led me to a lot of Parkerized wines which now I would find very tiring to drink.
I find a lot of shift within categories rather than between categories: in whites, I have overall a lot less tolerance for oak, and reach for a big CA butter bomb far less frequently that before. Maybe I am just following the zeitgeist but I don’t really think so. In reds, as I get wiser I just hanker for Bordeaux more and more often. I still enjoy CA cabs, as long as they aren’t grotesque.
Overall, my palate hasn’t shifted so much as it has expanded: I love obscure Italian white varieties (Nascetta) in addition to old faves like white burg and my beloved Loires of all kinds. I love Aglianco, for example, in reds — a variety I hadn’t even tried until a few years ago. I can’t even say I like older wines more now — I still appreciate wines both young and old.
FWIW
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me, too, but some white burgs still enjoyed though no more being bought.
Rob Winn brought a 2019 Hubert Lamy En Remilly to dinner last week. We had it with a bottle of 2014 Marguet Les Saint Remys. Both wines showed really well, paired with the food, and didn’t weigh down my palate. So I understand what you mean in your reply, Alan.
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Nearly every time I drink. I start with a glass of red or white and then move to a glass of Champagne.
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I think that’s a good approach, I feel similarly.
But I’ve never been a “eat or drink the same thing almost all the time” or “only listen to one kind of music” person by nature. I really like variety. I’m not saying anyone else is wrong to prefer otherwise, but I know myself and I know I like keeping it mixed up, even as there is some overall gradual evolution towards some things and away from others.
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I’m a few years older (just turned 43), but went through a similar shift in my late 30s. I still enjoy a Bordeaux from time to time, but as the only drinker in my house, following a BDX over 2-3 days does not appeal to me as much as it once did. Champagne (and to a lesser extent, sparkling) has always been my first love. That love really took off after I discovered this site and the best thread on the internet. Champagne is probably 1/3 of my cellar, but 90% of my spend and at least 75% of my consumption.