Monthly Archives: July 2011

Hangovers

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I had lunch with my dad (LondonWineDad?) at the lovely Galvin’s Bistrot on Baker Street last weekend. It’s a fantastic, chilled out and deeply foodie place for lunch, managing to be perfectly French without being snotty -just French enough, in other words!

We drank a bottle of Sancerre, La Vigne Blanche, which for those of you who aren’t French wine experts, is Sauvignon Blanc made in the Sancerre region – so you can confidently say you’re a Sancerre fan if you are normally a Sauvignon drinker.

La Vigne Blanche Sancerre - an ideal Sunday lunch wine

We were talking about this blog, and how dorky/cool it is that some of you who read it are people (fabulous people with good taste, obviously!) who I’ve never met before – which I still find totally amazing and exciting. The subject then turned to wine writing in general, and in particular, the great taboo in wine writing – getting pissed. There are some notable exceptions, but lots of wine writing seems to assume that you’re too busy swirling it round your mouth and daintly pirouetting around being lovely to do anything as uncouth as getting a bit drunk.

So it seems only fair to acknowledge that wine is for drinking, and to discuss the other great taboo – hangovers.

Here are my hard-fought, hangover-combatting tips. I should stress that this is a decade’s worth of investigative fumbling, rather than a medical opinion, and that some hangovers are diffident, incurable beasts, and require a whole day of doing nothing but eating crisps on the sofa and groaning whenever your husband walks past.

Should this not be an option, here are some other things to try:

1. Eat your way out of it. A KitKat, some porridge, crystallised ginger (keep by the bed for those “I’ll be sick if I move” ones), bacon when you’re ready for it – all good choices. Bad choices: leftover takeaway from last night, vegetables of any kind, anything that makes you think it will be “make or break” for your hangover. The key thing is just to keep eating, in enormous quantities, until you feel better.

2. Drink your way out of it. I swear by Dr Pepper, sparkling water and a skinny cappucino. Others like Berocca, Lucozade or full fat Coke. Whatever you do, don’t have a beer.

3. Sleep your way out of it. Not my proudest moment, but I did once have a cheeky kip in the disabled loos at a former workplace – and then felt able to return to my desk. Probably a better strategy for a weekend.

4. Tough it out. I can’t recommend this one. But I commend you if you manage.

Is there anything I’ve missed that always works for you? Let me know in the comments – I need all the help I can get.

Thanks for reading (and please, get pissed responsibly!) -

LWG

Londonwinegirl’s Holiday Report – Brunello di Montalcino wines from Italy

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Brunello di Montalcino is one of the better known Italian wines, synonymous with quality and made in Tuscany from the Sangiovese grape that’s also the main component in household names like Chianti. (Did you read that in Hannibal Lecter’s voice? I can’t help but think of him whenever Chianti is mentioned!)

The region is just south of Siena, and totally, heart-breakingly, Merchant Ivory gorgeous. It was an amazing first stop for us on our foodie, boozy Italian summer holiday.

Brunello di Montalcino - hills covered in vines

Amazing view snapped from our authentically Italian Fiat 500!

Brunello di Montalcino has had its fair share of scandal but although it is 100% Sangiovese rather than a fabulous Supertuscan blend, still packs a delicious spicy punch that holds it’s own against any of the big boozy reds you’ll find in the supermarket.

We posted home a case from the Le Potazzine winery, who make both an amazing Brunello and a cheaper Rosso di Montalcino which will set you back about £18 in the UK and is well worth a try.

We also visited a much smaller scale organic winery, Il Cocco, and met the wine-maker Giacomo Bindi, who is a lovely young guy who left an urban life as the son of a doctor to run the vineyard that his family has owned since 1700. He lives there alone except for a German Shepherd and retired horse, as well as the odd agritourist, and literally does everything himself, from training the vines and picking the grapes to bottling and even sticking on each label individually and by hand.

Giacomo from Il Cocco with his vines

This is another one that’s available in the UK and highly recommended! Do come back and tell me if the organic production methods ameliorate your hangovers!

Hope you enjoy trying Brunello di Montalcino – if so, you’ll be pleased to hear that the 2010 is already in barrels, but won’t be ready for a few years yet.

The Brunello di Montalcino 2010 maturing in an oak barrel.

Thanks for reading -

LWG