What I drank last night

Malbec. Every time. And that's even when it's washing down a juicy steak!

A friend of mine reckons he can only drink French red wines because reds from any other country give him a headache - even if he's drinking it with a meal. This seems ridiculous to me because I can't think that winemaking techniques can be very different the world over. Can there be any legitimate logic to his claim?

Normally depends on how many bottles we have drunk!

I am beginning to find that if I have more than a couple of glasses of anything other than Pinot Grigio or Champagne I get a horrible 'cluster' type headache, which is impossible to shift, sometimes goes on for days and doesn't respond to normal painkillers. This is a big shame because wine is my favourite alcoholic drink and I like to match it to food. Any tips anyone? (Apart from not drinking it, of course.)

From esperience (sadly!), for me as a general rule, it comes down to quality and quantity. The better the quality of the wine the lesser chance of a sore head (usually the case but not always!). And obviously it helps to have some food with the wine since that normally slows down the ingestion of alcohol into the bloodstream.

However if you drink more than a one bottle in one go well then you only have yourself to blame!

I believe the best way to enjoy any wine without a sore head is to drink an equivalent glass of water for every glass of wine.

White wines give me less trouble than reds. If I do have a headache the following morning, then eggs for breakfast quickly gets rid of it.

If I want to wake up with a sore head I always go for a Chianti but the Rioja are a good substitute. I have a similar problem with the better (more expensive!) Clarets but this may be linked to the inevitable follow up Port and Brandy on the occasions that I am drinking them.

Agree, lots of water and always food. Otherwise, prepare to have a hangover!

my wife also has a problem with reds from anywhere other than france ?

Totally agree with westonlad, drink lots of water. I do most of my wine drinking with food and always have a glass of water as well on the table but in the end it all comes down to how much wine you drink.

I have exactly the same problem as Rosie, cluster headaches after more than a couple of glasses of wine unless it's Pinot or Champagne. The only exception is if I have organic wine it is usually ok. It might be to do with the sulphur dioxide that is put into non organic wine.

South African Chenin Blanc gives me a bad head - happened a few times and now I avoid it.

And years ago had Beaujolais nouveau (probably much too much) and it was murder for me the next day.

Ian

Moderate, drink water, enjoy it all - 14.5 or above generally.