Does Aerating Wine Reduce Hangover?
At the end of the day, nothing beats a glass of wine after a long week of work. However, drinking can sometimes give you a nasty hangover the next day. One who drinks wine knows how bad of a hangover they could have, worse than that from a beer if not drunk carefully. Darker the wine, the worse the hangover. Does Aerating Wine Reduce Hangover?
Aerating the wine enhances the drinking experience, but the question is can it help with hangovers. Let us explore.
How to Aerate Wine the Right Way
Aerating wine is a simple process that can make a big difference in taste and quality. In fact, it’s a common practice among professional tasters and connoisseurs alike.
Aerating wine involves giving the wine some time to breathe before drinking it. This allows the flavors and aromas to develop and become more pronounced. It also allows some of the tannins and acids in the wine to precipitate out, making them less noticeable to your palate.
If you enjoy wine on a regular basis, there are several ways that you can aerate your favorite bottle at home:
- Pour into a decanter or wine glass with a stem. This allows for more surface area contact between air and liquid than simply pouring from one vessel into another would allow for. The result is a more efficient aeration of your wine!
- Use an aerator accessory on your faucet or pour directly into an empty glass and swirl vigorously before pouring into another vessel (such as a decanter). This method works well if you don’t plan on drinking all of the contents right away but still want some aeration before serving later on down the road!
- Simply open up your bottle while it’s still cold.
What exactly does aeration do?
1. Aeration softens and reduces tannins
In young wines, aeration reduces the high level of tannins. Over the years, researchers have found tannins being responsible for exacerbating migraines. It boosts serotonin levels in the brain which then triggers a headache, stomach irritation, vomiting, nausea, etc.
2. Increases the pleasure of drinking
Aeration helps in intensifying and enhancing the flavor and aroma.
3. Decreases the level of hangover
By aerating and activating the evaporation process, the level of sulfites in the wine is reduced but not completely, thus you may only be saved from experiencing the worst hangover. But keep in mind that sulfites are not the main cause of hangovers but dehydration is.
Why Aerating Wine Won’t do away with Hangovers?
Many people believe that aerating wine will reduce the hangover from drinking. As explained aeration refers to the process of adding oxygen to the wine. This can be done by decanting it or pouring it from one container to another.
Aeration does allow the wine to breathe, which affects its flavor and aroma. However, there is no evidence that aerating wine reduces hangovers.
In fact, there are many other factors that contribute to hangovers, including dehydration, alcohol content, the amount ingested, and sleep deprivation.
Aeration Will Not Reduce Alcohol Content
One of the biggest reasons why people claim they get less of a hangover when they drink aerated wines is because they believe that doing so reduces the amount of alcohol consumed. This is not true! The chemical makeup of alcohol does not change after aeration.
Which wines are best when aerated?
- Aeration is very beneficial for a young, full-bodied red wine. The darker the wine, the more congeners it will have. The level of tannin worsens the experience, so just let your wine breathe.
- Even though white wine does not cause a very bad hangover, aerating it can remove the carbon dioxide left after the process of fermentation, giving it a harmonious taste.
Best Wines to drink to avoid a bad hangover
Spend a little more and experience the aroma of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Mourvedre. These wines generally do not cause a very bad hangover.
Other ways of avoiding a wine Hangover
- Drink only after having a full meal. Avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
- Stay hydrated to avoid dehydration.
- Drink within your limits.
- Drink slower as drinking it quickly results in higher blood alcohol concentration.
- Refrain from mixing your wine with other alcohol.
- Switch to white wine or less tannic red as it contains almost no congeners.
FAQs related to aeration of Wine
1. Can tannins and sulfites be removed completely upon aerating the wine?
Not completely, but you can be saved from experiencing the worst hangover waking up the next morning.
2. Does aerating wine make any difference?
Yes, it does. It enhances the drinking experience, escalates the level of aroma, and reduces the tannin concentration. In terms of flavor and aroma, surely it does if you let your wine breathe but when it comes to saving you from a hangover though some people swear by aerating, there’s no evidence that it reduces hangovers.
3. Is white wine better than red for avoiding hangovers?
White wine has almost no congeners, the pesky substance in an alcoholic beverage. Over the years researchers have come down to the conclusion that congeners in wine are responsible for hangovers. So, you can just swap your red for white.
4. Are congeners solely responsible for hangovers?
No, but it is one of the main factors. It straightaway affects the body’s abilities to break down ethanol, triggering stress responses in the body. Thus, you can neutralize the congener concentration by adding orange juice to your beverage.
5. Does white wine require aeration?
As the concentration of tannins is negligible when it comes to white wine, one does not really require to aerate their white wine. The popular belief amongst many is that upon aerating some white wines, the flavor and aroma enhance further but for some, it’s a gimmick.
6. Does aerating red wine reduce hangovers?
The simple answer would be a no, but it would save you from the worst.
7. Within red wines which varietals can be aerated?
Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon can be aerated because upon infusing the air, it mellows those tannins a bit.
Conclusion
The quick answer to the question does aerating wine reduce hangover is actually yes. Aerated wine may lessen the hangover caused by consuming wine, but it may not help prevent the headache that full-bodied wines often cause. The only way to truly reduce hangovers is to drink alcohol in moderation.
