Some random thoughts, mainly about alcohol

[Robert.A.Jr]

I rarely drink during the day, even on weekends. Even when I’m out on the boat or golfing. Mellows me too much. Seems to have a different effect during the evening. I could be part werewolf.

I’m the same and attribute it to age. An occasional glass with lunch on the weekends but anything more and I’m a zombie in a few hours and the rest of the day is shot.

I’ve always been this way, even when young. I must be nocturnal, as I can go forever while drinking at night. One drink in the day and I need a nap. That said, headed to Bedrock today for a tasting at 1:30.

[Matthew_King]

Alcohol is and ever was a poison … too much of it is not good for the health - period.

Help:

1. drink a lot of water in between your sips of wine - A LOT !
2. learn to spit … it´s almost no loss of taste and pleasure (almost), but will minimize the alc consumed
3. drink less wine generally

I don´t want to go so far as to put water into your wine but water in between and spitting will dfinitely help.

I always spit at tastings with many bottles - even at home. One can get used to it.

This is how I roll now. I’ve essentially given up swallowing alcohol. Feel worlds better for it. I still taste (and understand that I get a wee bit this way), but the difference in things like sleep, etc. is just too noticeable and the positive impact on my health has been considerable.

Interesting. This isn’t a trade-off I’d be willing to make. I don’t go to tastings and almost never attend events where multiple bottles are opened. 99.9% of the wine I drink is with my wife, over dinner, a single bottle between us. I would never spit; I’d rather just not drink if that were the price of admission

And I never day-drink wine. Occasionally (very occasionally) at a bbq type social event I will have a beer or two, but it will almost inevitably lead to a late-day nap

You almost make that sound like a bad thing …

[jcoley3]

Alcohol is and ever was a poison … too much of it is not good for the health - period.

Help:

1. drink a lot of water in between your sips of wine - A LOT !
2. learn to spit … it´s almost no loss of taste and pleasure (almost), but will minimize the alc consumed
3. drink less wine generally

I don´t want to go so far as to put water into your wine but water in between and spitting will dfinitely help.

I always spit at tastings with many bottles - even at home. One can get used to it.

This is how I roll now. I’ve essentially given up swallowing alcohol. Feel worlds better for it. I still taste (and understand that I get a wee bit this way), but the difference in things like sleep, etc. is just too noticeable and the positive impact on my health has been considerable.

Interesting. This isn’t a trade-off I’d be willing to make. I don’t go to tastings and almost never attend events where multiple bottles are opened. 99.9% of the wine I drink is with my wife, over dinner, a single bottle between us. I would never spit; I’d rather just not drink if that were the price of admission

And I never day-drink wine. Occasionally (very occasionally) at a bbq type social event I will have a beer or two, but it will almost inevitably lead to a late-day nap

Neal,

Yeah, I’m at the opposite extreme because I’m in the trade. I sometimes have spit hundreds of wines in a day. Having seen the deleterious effects (both short- and long-term) on trade people who swallow at big events, it’s the only way to go for me.

Many years ago I did a wine dinner with a lovely woman from Burgundy, and the Chef noticed her plates were coming back with only the smallest of nibbles, and he asked me to ask her if everything was OK, and she laughed and said, “Jim, I have to eat a meal like this every night for the next month. If I eat it all I will be (puffs her cheeks out) in a week.”

One of the things I think a lot of professionals aren’t comfortable talking about is the sheer volume of accessible wine available to us and how easy it can be to fall into abusing it. Samples get dropped off. There’s a wine dinner Tuesday, a fun wine event Thursday, if you’re like me and own a venue your guests will often want you to join them and drink with them on Friday and Saturday. And Hey! It’s my brunch regulars who love Champagne! Even if you drink moderately, that can add up quickly. Speaking for myself, I wasn’t living like the Joe Beef guys, but I was definitely looking at weeks where there was only a day or two where I didn’t drink. My waistline and blood tests reflected it as well.

I love a lot of what I do. Hospitality, great friends, etc. I love wine people and wine culture. I love the taste of wine. But the two things that I didn’t like were the health effects and the actual being drunk part. I find that I’m a much better (and slimmer) “host” sober. Oddly, enough people have seen me spit wine that no one seems self conscious about it at dinners or at the bubbly bar. Might be weird on a first date, but I would probably try not to get into that situation right away with someone who didn’t know me at all, either.

It’s a strange way to go about wine, but I get to enjoy pretty much everything I personally enjoy about it living this way. Obviously, its not for everybody (or maybe anybody who’s not me ).

[Neal.Mollen]

This is how I roll now. I’ve essentially given up swallowing alcohol. Feel worlds better for it. I still taste (and understand that I get a wee bit this way), but the difference in things like sleep, etc. is just too noticeable and the positive impact on my health has been considerable.

Interesting. This isn’t a trade-off I’d be willing to make. I don’t go to tastings and almost never attend events where multiple bottles are opened. 99.9% of the wine I drink is with my wife, over dinner, a single bottle between us. I would never spit; I’d rather just not drink if that were the price of admission

And I never day-drink wine. Occasionally (very occasionally) at a bbq type social event I will have a beer or two, but it will almost inevitably lead to a late-day nap

Neal,

Yeah, I’m at the opposite extreme because I’m in the trade. I sometimes have spit hundreds of wines in a day. Having seen the deleterious effects (both short- and long-term) on trade people who swallow at big events, it’s the only way to go for me.

Many years ago I did a wine dinner with a lovely woman from Burgundy, and the Chef noticed her plates were coming back with only the smallest of nibbles, and he asked me to ask her if everything was OK, and she laughed and said, “Jim, I have to eat a meal like this every night for the next month. If I eat it all I will be (puffs her cheeks out) in a week.”

One of the things I think a lot of professionals aren’t comfortable talking about is the sheer volume of accessible wine available to us and how easy it can be to fall into abusing it. Samples get dropped off. There’s a wine dinner Tuesday, a fun wine event Thursday, if you’re like me and own a venue your guests will often want you to join them and drink with them on Friday and Saturday. And Hey! It’s my brunch regulars who love Champagne! Even if you drink moderately, that can add up quickly. Speaking for myself, I wasn’t living like the Joe Beef guys, but I was definitely looking at weeks where there was only a day or two where I didn’t drink. My waistline and blood tests reflected it as well.

I love a lot of what I do. Hospitality, great friends, etc. I love wine people and wine culture. I love the taste of wine. But the two things that I didn’t like were the health effects and the actual being drunk part. I find that I’m a much better (and slimmer) “host” sober. Oddly, enough people have seen me spit wine that no one seems self conscious about it at dinners or at the bubbly bar. Might be weird on a first date, but I would probably try not to get into that situation right away with someone who didn’t know me at all, either.

It’s a strange way to go about wine, but I get to enjoy pretty much everything I personally enjoy about it living this way. Obviously, its not for everybody (or maybe anybody who’s not me ).

I totally understand. I’m perfectly happy anchoring my end of the continuum and it sounds like you have found the right approach to life at the other end.

[Anton_D]

I worked for a short while as a food critic and would “eat” at up to 40 restaurants per day. I gave it up because the chewing and spitting got old.

[Frank_Murray_III]

I’ve continued to give this topic a lot of awareness in terms of how I consumed alcohol in the past month. I did an afternoon yesterday, where there was about 10 wines open. Spit most of it, although I did drink several pours of Champagne and also the 2007 Copain En Bas, which was just excellent and no way I was going to spit that out. Last week, did 18 wines at Rhys and 18 wines the next day with Jamie Kutch, spit most everything both days. Still, getting some headaches so I’m concluding that what I am going through is a change to my own body as to how it tolerates booze, and also as I said in a post a few weeks back that I just needed a reminder to manage how I taste in settings where there is lots of things open. I have got that frame of mind again so it has been helpful, but not perfect.

[Jay_Miller]

@brigcampbell

There’s a really easy way to test if it’s the histamines. Drink a wine that is known to cause a reaction for you and then take a benadryl before going to bed. The anti-histamine will help with the stuffy nose and aid in sleeping. That’s what’s in Tylenol PM.

Unless (like me) you are one of the 3% of the population for whom benadryl acts as a stimulant.

Edited to add: didn’t realize I was replying to a necro’ed thread. Sorry.

[Frank_Murray_III]

Jay, I don’t see any reason why people can’t bring up former discussions. No need to apologize.

And, my premise for making the post a few years ago is still true, if perhaps moreso now. I’m older, and I have also noticed very clearly that one of the benefits of my love for Champagne has been its inherent lower alcohol. I get so few headaches now, in part because I’m not drinking 13-16% stuff anymore. Yeah, that range on the low end is a rounding off so to speak but I cannot argue with my own experience now. If I sit down now and try and have a couple glasses of stuff in this % range, particularly above 14%, I just don’t enjoy it anymore. I don’t miss the big wines at all.

Plus, when I had my heart valve replaced last year (it had worn out and was failing), I decided to pull back on my consumption and limit to 7 glasses a week. I make my goal just above every week except on holidays and such, like now. But, this recalibration, and with consuming mostly now Champagne, I feel a lot better, and my headaches are now mostly gone.

Happy holidays to you.