Get your kicks from champagne

[Long Run]

y Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Raise a glass of bubbly this holiday season; it may be good for your health.

According to a 2013 University of Reading study, drinking up to three glasses of champagne weekly may "help delay the onset of degenerative brain disorders, such as dementia."

The 2 1/2-year-old report resurfaced on social media this weekend, cracking Facebook's list of trending topics late Sunday.

In a news release, researchers said the compounds found in two red grapes used to make champagne – pinot noir and pinot meunier – can have a positive effect on spatial memory and learning. As a result, bubbly "may help prevent the cognitive losses that occur during typical and atypical brain aging."

But that doesn't mean you should tip back an entire bottle of booze.

"We encourage a responsible approach to alcohol consumption, and our results suggest that a very low intake of one to two glasses a week can be effective," professor Jeremy Spencer said.
- See more at: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/nationa ... QSH2P.dpuf

[Guinevere]

I love champers, it's always been my preferred drink, and I particularly enjoy a nice glass (or three) of Moët, which uses a good percentage of Pinot noir and Pinot meunier in its production (depending on the version of Moët one is drinking). My swede always comments on my excellent memory (even three glasses in), so perhaps there is something to it after all.

Anecdotally, of course.

[MajGenl.Meade]

... at least, you remember the Swede as having said that.

[Guinevere]

Oh he comments on it regularly. As an older man, perhaps he is impressed by the abilities of my still-youthful brain. Or maybe he just forgets he has said it before ....

[rubato]

I clicked and read through and they mention 'phenolics' but not which ones, which is frustrating. Resveratrol (aka "Trans Stilbene) is a polyphenol formerly identified in red wine and proposed as the answer to the "French paradox" back in the late 1990s.





Are these new ones? I'll have to look into it. I like a glass of champagne now and again but not enough to drink it every week. We have a bottle which was gifted us in the pantry where it has been for the last year.

yrs,
rubato

[Guinevere]

I'm curious, too, let us know what you find rubato.

The article specifically mentions Pinot Noir (red) and Pinot Meunier (black, but a mutant of Pinot Noir) grapes. Perhaps its the concept that "white" champagne has some of the same phenols found in red wine. I think the Cali sparkling wine adds too much chardonnay to the mix, which is why I've always preferred the authentic French sparkers (and which may not be as "healthy" as using the red/black grapes).

[BoSoxGal]

I love champagne, but for some reason it gives me an instant killer migraine, so I am only able to have the obligatory sip or two during toasts at weddings, holiday celebrations, etc.

Regular wines I can tolerate pretty well, more so now because my migraines have reduced in frequency with menopause. Sadly, after investing in 4 cases of pretty nice wines for an open house and dinner parties I was planning at my office/home, I'm not really drinking anymore because of all the meds I'm taking for my MS.

Worst thing is, I can't ship or move the wines home to Maine with me, unless I do a self-move, which I'm trying to avoid - I'm not strong enough these days to deal with unloading/reloading a truck solo if I end up with a broken down one on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere South Dakota. I'm thinking of just not telling the movers that the boxes of wine are boxes of wine - they are so well packed there's no way they'll break, and even if they did, the packing includes materials that would absorb any spillage. Is that bad??? My friend in Maine I'm going to live with LOVES wine, so it would be great to bring it along.

[Long Run]

I think it is probably better not to spend too much time trying to figure this one out, and just go with it.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Are you not driving your car to Maine?

[BoSoxGal]

I am, but there's me, my dog LB, a backpack of essentials, and some heirlooms I was not going to put on the moving truck because I'd be heartbroken if they broke.

The boxes of wine are quite large and would take up all available space, I think.

[MajGenl.Meade]

A U-Haul trailer? One of those hamburger boxes on the roof? Forget the heirlooms? Stay there and let LD drive?

Wine is... you know... wine!

Oh, I bet... once you've packed the car, you can find all kinds of interstices to stick a bottle or two until you've got all or most jammed in! Stick bottles inside heirlooms! Something! Anything! At least one case... please! Or ship 'em - you can ship from there to Maine I think.

(Yeah, or just mark the boxes "Crockery" and "Dinner plates" and let the movers do their thing).

[BoSoxGal]

I looked into shipping, it's a federal offense by USPS and FedEx & UPS won't ship it unless you have all the paperwork to qualify as a registered shipper. Too many stupid laws!

The problem with putting it on the truck I'm now realizing, is that it would be subject to weeks or months of fluctuating temperatures, which would likely ruin it and thus make the effort worthless.

Looks like I'll be selling them to a local collector who was willing to buy them if I needed him to. Or, I could have a big going-away wine & cheese party . . .

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well, whatever decision you make, it's the right one! Wine or money - you can't go wrong. But if you can't drink the wine, don't waste it on free loaders. (If you do, let me know when!)

But on temperatures - that's a bit overdone (not inaccurate but a bit overdone) in popular legend. Wine gets shipped all over the place and not in temp controlled vehicles either. Your truck movers are going to be travelling in winter across the northern bits of the USA which are not at all warm.

OTOH, money is nice too! Remember though that wine can get you thru times of no money, but money won't get you through times of no wine!

[kristina]

Even if you only have room for a couple of bottles, take two or three in the car; then you can celebrate your safe arrival!

[oldr_n_wsr]

If you were an alcoholic you would figure out a way to take them with you.

[Econoline]

If nothing else, maybe you should take some as far as Ohio...

[MajGenl.Meade]

I'm OK with that! Ditch it all at the intersection of the Turnpike and Route 8.

[Big RR]

BSG--check out this:

https://www.allied.com/moving-tips/moving-your-wine

UPS won't ship but perhaps your mover will.

[Big RR]

And remember, it's OK to ship Olive Oil in bottles (and sealed cartons) by UPS, so you can use your imagination.

[BoSoxGal]

I found a forum online where someone advised telling the shipper it's olive oil or balsamic vinegar instead of wine.

So far the cheapest option is FedEx, which runs about $65/box (dozen bottles). I'm toying with that, or with reconfiguring my RAV4 so I can fit the boxes in it. The cheapest shipping option takes 6-7 days and won't include climate control, so it might be better than I bring it myself and load it out and in at each stop, as apparently very cold weather can damage the wine, which would make all the effort futile.