h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Champagne and Sparkling Wine - Under Construction - A919965
Author: Gnomon [Back from Paris] - U151503

The guide needs an entry on Champagne to go with the smiley.

Silly me, I should have taken the "Under Construction" out of the title before I submit it. I've done it now.

Nice one Gnomon How was Paris? Hope it wasn't as cold as it was down here ...

Anyway, back to the entry...

Can I sue the BBC and you if I manage to get a hangover through drinking too much - I don't think that particular phrase is going to make it through...

Secondly, I know you're Irish, but, you could give the Brits a little publicity once in a while . How about a mention for that rarity of rarities - English Sparkling Wine... I've actually drunk it (and sold it to Frenchmen ) and it's quite drinkable... have a look at http://www.bozedown.com

Hiya,

nice entry, looks like it'll be all round before too long...

Mumm's the word!

Which makes me think; you mention several specific renowned producers, perhaps a list of the top 10 names in champagne production would go well after teh main text...

oh, and you might like to link to this edited entry on Wine - A289677

This looks like a good noo year starter - but shouldn't it have been ready to hit the front page on Dec 31st?

That would require too much forward planning!

Paris was cold, Whisky. About minus 5 on Friday and Saturday. As an Irishman, I had never encountered such temperatures before.

You can most certainly get a hangover from drinking only champagne.

I have to agree with that NAITA - in fact champagne is the only drink I know which can give me a whilst I'm still on it, so I never drink the stuff these days.

And there's third way of opening a bottle of 'poo - with a sword

Corking stuff.

"If is as good as..."

"It is as good as..."

Excellent. a real connoisseurs entry. One possible explaination for the hangover accusations of Champagne is the bubbles. Bubbles, apparantly, will get the alcohol into your system faster. Also, as the bubbles at the surface burst you will inhale some alcohol. Inhalation needs a lot less and acts a lot quicker so the results are you seem to have drunk more than you have.

I and my five friends have drunk six bottles of Champagne every New Year's Eve for the last five or six years and none of us have ever suffered any ill effects.

Yes Gnomon, but you're Irish The rest of us poor folk weren't raised on Guinness from birth

I'll wait and see what other people think. Is the general feeling that I should change the bit about hangovers?

I don't know about your hangover theory, but one thing i have noticed on the rare occasions when i have consumed any quantity of champagne is that I have drunk three or four glasses of it at the beginning of an evening, then calmed down a bit and switched to something else but later had a bit of a headache.

this sounds a bit like someone else's 'not_next_morning' hangover...

Personally, I'd have thought it was medically unlikely that anything containing alcohol could not give you a hangover. If it's booze, it'll dehydrate you, and that's what causes a in one not blessed with your iron constitution.

Great entry. BTW! I'm sure it'll earn you some virtual soon. And I'm glad you got in the line about motor racing drivers. Even though I don't drink any more, that shocking waste of good still annoys me!

Hangovers can be caused by a number of things. One is dehydration. Another is higher order alcohols, such as propanol and butanol. I've been told that pure ethanol does not give hangovers except for the dehydration effect, so that if you drink enough water you will be ok. It is possible (although I have no evidence) that Champagne has less of the higher order alcohols in it.

Hi Gnomon,

I was about to say the same. Alcohol by itself will only cause the dehydration as previously mentioned. The headaches, upset stomach and general lethergy are caused by other ingredients contained in whatever you your are drinking and spirits are the worst culprit for that followed closely by not so good beer. Guinness and German lager is a lot better in this respect.

The sore head experienced after over indulgence is most likely caused by carbon-monoxide poisoning from the tobacco smoke that usually prevails in places where alcohol is consumed. See A817850 (All right, it’s a plug, but everyone else does it!)

You might also like to link to the very good article on Hangovers at A103140.



Stuart

I've made a few small changes:

I've changed champagne to a small c throughout, except when referring to the region of France.

I've added a definition of "Non-vintage".

I've changed the section on Hangovers slightly.

I've added a section listing all the strange names for big champagne bottles.

Nice entry. I didn't realise that Bucks Fizz needed an apostraphe though.

I'm glad that you mentioned Asti, because I don't like dry wine I hate Champagne, and it gives me something to celebrate with instead.

Could you sneak in a mention of pink champagne somewhere?

Azara

Oooh Bucks Fizz - Cheryl Baker - Down Boy.

Nothing about opening champagne the fourth way ... i.e., on the ar5e-end of a new boat?

Supposedly Lahnd'ners or Parisians used champers to wash down their carriages in the 18th/19th Centuries as the water was too polluted. Any truth?

DMT