What is in your cup?

[5thWiggleWife]

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

[treadlightly]

My fourth steep of the same Ti Kuan Yin leaves from this morning.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by orlok

I used to drink a lot of Dutch Wheat Beer, which as the name implies does have wheat. I possibly should have more correctly said gluten-free, which most barley based beer isn't.

Anyway, I now have a gluten-free glass of red wine in front of me .

Yup, gluten-free red wine. Guaranteed to give me a splitting headache within 5 minutes of my first sip. Sigh.

We did open a bottle of 2000 Georges de la Tour Cabernet Sauvignon the other night. The last of the George from when we lived in California. Drinking very well indeed - still plenty of Rutherford dust in the nose, and still plenty of fruit to go with the structure in the mouth, and a finish that simply doesn't quit. A lovely wine, but a truly monumental red wine headache before the end of the first glass. Worth it for this wine.

This afternoon, a pot of Jade Ti Kwan Yin.

[cromag]

My first mug of tea for the day.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yup, gluten-free red wine. Guaranteed to give me a splitting headache within 5 minutes of my first sip. Sigh.

We did open a bottle of 2000 Georges de la Tour Cabernet Sauvignon the other night. The last of the George from when we lived in California. Drinking very well indeed - still plenty of Rutherford dust in the nose, and still plenty of fruit to go with the structure in the mouth, and a finish that simply doesn't quit. A lovely wine, but a truly monumental red wine headache before the end of the first glass. Worth it for this wine.

This afternoon, a pot of Jade Ti Kwan Yin.

I used to get red wine headaches, and even worse, after a few glasses half of my face would go red - it was a straight line down the middle of my face with one half white, the other red. Very embarrassing. And then one day it just stopped, and I'm fine now, including the headaches.

On my third glass now

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by orlok

I used to get red wine headaches, and even worse, after a few glasses half of my face would go red - it was a straight line down the middle of my face with one half white, the other red. Very embarrassing. And then one day it just stopped, and I'm fine now, including the headaches.

On my third glass now

I went for years and years with no issue. When we lived in California we had a cellar of >700 bottles of some of the very best California, Oregon and Washington state wines, with a heavy emphasis on the California reds. When we immigrated to Canada, we brought ~450 bottles with us. And then about 3 years after we got up here, I started getting red wine headaches. With hundreds of bottles of premium California Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir that I can only drink if I'm willing to have a splitting headache. Sigh. Somehow my wife's sympathy appears slightly shallow.

If I take 2 aspirin 30 minutes before I take a sip, I can sometimes get away with only a shadow headache. Probably 75% of the time with a Pinot Noir, maybe 50% of the time with a Zinfandel. And maybe 0% of the time with a Cabernet. All the Zin and Pinot Noir are long gone. But there are still a few of the Cabs left.

[orlok]

Ouch! And what a waste of what was a very large cellar.

Rooibos in my cup right now.

[cromag]

Sorry to hear that, CRussel! And sorry to hear about the Zinfandels!

When it comes to wine, I really like Zinfandel and Shiraz (I think there's some feeling that they're actually the same grape). I don't like whites, and I don't like any other reds. But I really like Zinfandel/Shiraz.

And right now, after a very stressful day, I'm having a second glass of Zinfandel and managing my Analog/Asimov issues via Calibre. I may even get a chance to read a shorter story before bed!

[treadlightly]

Green tea today of course!

[Stitchawl]

A small glass of tequila.


Stitchawl

[kindlekitten]

Sparkling water.

I too have the red wine headaches. I also throw up when drinking black tea hot. I'm fairly certain that it's the tannins. Both of these started after the birth of my second child. Quien sabe?

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Sparkling water.

I too have the red wine headaches. I also throw up when drinking black tea hot. I'm fairly certain that it's the tannins. Both of these started after the birth of my second child. Quien sabe?

Well, I have no problems with tannins in anything else, so I think we can rule that out for the root of my red wine headaches.

The studies really haven't ever identified a root cause, though there have been lots of things suggested and tried. And rejected.

Originally Posted by cromag

Sorry to hear that, CRussel! And sorry to hear about the Zinfandels!

When it comes to wine, I really like Zinfandel and Shiraz (I think there's some feeling that they're actually the same grape). I don't like whites, and I don't like any other reds. But I really like Zinfandel/Shiraz.

And right now, after a very stressful day, I'm having a second glass of Zinfandel and managing my Analog/Asimov issues via Calibre. I may even get a chance to read a shorter story before bed!

I love Zinfandel, and I suspect if I had to pick one grape, that would be it. Unfortunately, it's a grape that simply doesn't grow well anywhere in Canada. It likes lots of heat units and long summers, and is one of the very last to mature. You can grow good Cabernet here most years, and superb Merlot every year, and even excellent cool-weather Shirah/Shiraz. But not Zin. (I've seen a couple of places try it here in BC, but the results were, frankly, lamentable.) The benchmark for Zinfandel is Napa's Dry Creek Valley, whose weather and soil are definitely NOT that of BC's Okanagan Valley. Good Zin takes sugar levels sufficient to produce 14-16% alcohol. That's not going to happen here.

Drinking Irish Breakfast Blend tea this morning, of course.

[cromag]

Last mug of tea for the day.

[Stitchawl]

A late-night glass of Mango lassi


Stitchawl

[CRussel]

More Irish Breakfast Blend tea today. I need to rehydrate after last night's multiple rounds of Macallan Amber. A definite step up from the other two choices on offer, but a bit lighter than my usual fare. OTOH, I wasn't buying, so...