Is Brut champagne dying out?

[David_Bu3ker]

Conclusion, as always drink what you like and ignore the hype.

It also puts a serious dent in any kind of theory about “natural wine” and even “terroir.” 32g of sugar? Jesus. No one can taste terroir at that level. Differences between wine A and B? Yes. Terroir? Not when the sugar level is at Hershey Bar levels.

Well first of all, 32 grams of sugar is not Brut. And it’s not close to a candy bar.

And I have some German Rieslings that would like to talk to you about terroir at 32 (or more) grams of sugar.

[Frank_Murray_III]

Low dosage Champagne is the reason I’m currently interested in Champagne. I’ve found many higher dosage Champagnes are too sweet for my preferences, and also give me an immediate headache. Low dosage examples, however, have a way of disappearing real quick, and sans-headache, ta boot.

How dare you post something like this. Repent for your post.

[Roy_Piper]

No, but 32g is what it use to be and shows that in the end, winemakers will change the style to sell when needed as tastes change and will sacrifice “terroir” in the process, if needed. Champagne at 32g? Were they talking about terroir back then? You are right though, 32g is not a Hershey bar. It’s 2/3 of a Hershey bar. A Hershey bar is 21g.

[David_Bu3ker]

Hershey bars have 24g of sugar in 1.5 ounces.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Pent

Pent

Pent

Pent

…

[David_Bu3ker]

Does other sugar give you a headache?

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Does other sugar give you a headache?

No.

There’s just something about Champagne. Not all normal/high dosage examples, mind you, but most. It’s why I’ve historically avoided them. Instant headache (as in, 2 or 3 sips in to first glass)


It must be something to do with the bubbles because I’ll house sweet Riesling, and no problems with Sauternes or Tokaji.

[James_Billy]

Maybe higher dosage wines have higher sulphur levels?

[David_Bu3ker]

If he can handle Riesling then it’s not sulfur.

Brian is the first person I have ever heard of (in 25+ years of serious wine drinking) cite Brut Champagne as a headache problem, except annually the morning of January 1!

[Jay_Miller]

At the end of the day, it all comes down to balance and you can find balance at both ends of the spectrum.

[Troy_Stark]

Might be the carbonation + sugar + alcohol combination causing the headache? I’m pretty sure the CO2 acts in some fashion to increase the effect of alcohol on the brain.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

If he can handle Riesling then it’s not sulfur.

Brian is the first person I have ever heard of (in 25+ years of serious wine drinking) cite Brut Champagne as a headache problem, except annually the morning of January 1!

Seriously though, I am a bit surprised to hear that. I have, anecdotally, heard from at least a few people that Champagne gives them instant headache. At least one of them additionally commented that they did not experience a headache while we were sharing a low dosage bottle.

[David_Bu3ker]

I am seriously willing to bet it’s coincidence, not a physical reaction. And now that you have it in your head…

[DougS]

Brian is the first person I have ever heard of (in 25+ years of serious wine drinking) cite Brut Champagne as a headache problem, except annually the morning of January 1!

Same here (except the 25 years part).

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

That’s a possibility, David, but that would be an odd, unfortunate and undesirable thing for me to Psyche myself into. I’d really rather not have this problem.

[DougS]

If he can handle Riesling then it’s not sulfur.

Brian is the first person I have ever heard of (in 25+ years of serious wine drinking) cite Brut Champagne as a headache problem, except annually the morning of January 1!

Seriously though, I am a bit surprised to hear that. I have, anecdotally, heard from at least a few people that Champagne gives them instant headache. At least one of them additionally commented that they did not experience a headache while we were sharing a low dosage bottle.

I just can’t imagine what would be causing that. It certainly isn’t the tiny amount of sugar in a brut Champagne, and there’s nothing else different about low dosage wines. I can’t even think of a plausible explanation.

[Blake_Brown]

If he can handle Riesling then it’s not sulfur.

Brian is the first person I have ever heard of (in 25+ years of serious wine drinking) cite Brut Champagne as a headache problem, except annually the morning of January 1!

Seriously though, I am a bit surprised to hear that. I have, anecdotally, heard from at least a few people that Champagne gives them instant headache. At least one of them additionally commented that they did not experience a headache while we were sharing a low dosage bottle.

I just can’t imagine what would be causing that. It certainly isn’t the tiny amount of sugar in a brut Champagne, and there’s nothing else different about low dosage wines. I can’t even think of a plausible explanation.

Placebo effect?

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

Seriously though, I am a bit surprised to hear that. I have, anecdotally, heard from at least a few people that Champagne gives them instant headache. At least one of them additionally commented that they did not experience a headache while we were sharing a low dosage bottle.

I just can’t imagine what would be causing that. It certainly isn’t the tiny amount of sugar in a brut Champagne, and there’s nothing else different about low dosage wines. I can’t even think of a plausible explanation.

Half a bottle of Champagne with a dosage of 8g/l has about a total of 1/10th of an ounce of sugar. Not sure how someone will not have a reaction to 1/20th of an ounce of sugar but will have an instant headache from 1/10th of an ounce unless it is as Blake suggested.

[David_Bu3ker]

That’s my take.

Perhaps a childhood scare from someone named Brutus.

[Jay_Miller]

Could sugar act similarly to bubbles in speeding alcohol intake?

I’ve never read anything like that but it seems like the only mechanism that could explain it.