Congeners. Great Personality? Or Devils in Disguise?

Tavia

Pain slicing through your temple, nausea rolling through your empty belly, mouth watering, window shades drawn tight, there is no end in sight! What, oh what, did you do to deserve this? You over imbibed, my friend, and now you have an epic hangover.

And with this week’s St. Croix Food and Wine Festival upon us, and the 10th Annual Taste of St. Croix, you will have many, many occasions to risk the dreaded hangover. As winemakers descend on St. Croix from the far reaches of Italy, Washington State, California, and South America to ply us with their heavenly nectar, seasoned wine drinkers and amateurs alike, lay prey to the two faced beast the congener.

There are many reasons that over-imbibing alcoholic beverages causes us pain and misery. Alcohol is a diuretic, dehydrating us like a week long unplanned trip to the Sahara. It depletes blood sugar, vitamins and minerals that keep us healthy, shiny, and strong. Alcohol swells blood vessels in our head, and that just can’t be good. But why, why does a beverage that tastes so good, and makes us so witty, smart, and pretty at parties exact this dreadful revenge?

The bitter irony is that the very substances that give wine its taste, aroma, and color are congeners. Congeners are impurities produced naturally during alcoholic fermentation. They are also found naturally in coffee, ripening fruit and bread. But as pure ethanol is produced during fermentation giving us the “clean” alcohol we want, impurities, such as acetone and acetaldehyde are also produced and when consumed build up in your body causing all sorts of misery.

Different alcoholic beverages contain different levels of congeners. A good rule of thumb? The darker the beverage, the more congeners it contains. Therefore, vodka has less than bourbon, and white wine has less than red. Many theories abound on this thought. Some winemakers claim that a bad wine harvest produces more impurities in the grapes than a good one, so knowing your vintages matter. Some claim that aging wines helps, as the impurities from young oaked wines will lessen with age. I claim that drinking in moderation and following some basic steps will have you tasting away this week with them best of them.

Some basic steps to celebrate food and wine on St. Croix, with little regret later:

1. Eat something! Food in the stomach helps slow the absorption of alcohol. Go to an event with something in your stomach, and keep noshing.

2. Drink slowly. Your body can handle about 1 oz. of alcohol per hour. Meaning it can deal with the congeners at that rate.

3. Stay hydrated. Remember, alcohol dehydrates you. Put some water back in you!

4. We are sophisticated wine drinkers, sampling some of the finest. There is no need to binge.

5. Keep your metabolism up. Do some light exercise, take a walk, dance! This helps your body process the alcohol.

6. Eat protein and drink orange juice afterwards. Replenish those nutrients you’ve drunk away. Vitamin C, B1 and Thiamin help with the headache.

7. Lessen your intake of “high congener” alcohols. They will hurt you at a higher rate. I know we all like our big, gutsy reds, but pace yourself and try some of the delicate whites on offer as well.

8. Watch your intake of bubbles, they speed the rate of alcohol in your system. This goes for champagne, but also rum and cokes!

9. Sleep. You just put your body through all sorts of work, let it rest.

10. Enjoy. This party only happens once a year.

Some wines to look for this week, from our visiting wineries:

CMS White and Red by Hedges Family Estates, Columbia Valley, Washington.
This family run winery produces the affordable CMS line of wines. The white is a blend of Chardonnay, Marsanne, and Sauvignon Blanc. The red of Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah. Both are great values and demonstrate the innovative winemaking of this estate and the great quality of Washington grapes.

Tinazzi Opera No.3 Vinum Italicum
The third-generation family-run Tinazzi winery makes wine throughout the best regions of Italy. Look for this “super-Italian” that combines Corvina from estates in the Veneto with Primitivo from Puglia and Nero D’Avola from Sicily. If you see this, congeners be damned, drink it!

Michael-David Family of Wines Incognito Viognier and & Seven Deadly Zins
This Lodi, California winery produces award-winning Rhone varietals and blends as well as California’ s signature Zinfandel grape. Their Incognito Viognier has floral and rich tropical fruit notes, and their Seven Deadly Zins is ripe with raspberry fruit and black pepper notes.