I often joke with clients about the relaxed nature of Wine Country. Wineries are flexible about appointments (especially in the slow season), the dress code is Wine Country Casual, which means you can't look too good, but you could look too formal and there is the popular saying that in Sonoma they are in a coma, and in Napa they are taking a nap. For being a major tourist destination there is relatively little night life, most restaurants close early. If you ask for an 8:30 dinner reservation during the week you should be prepared for your entire dinner coming in forty five minutes while they turn the chairs up on the tables.
All of this can be explained in part by this, 'they drink a lot of wine here'. When I am touring with clients I explain that I will be the only sober person they see today. The people behind the bars taste the wines to make sure they are okay, and then some. Many work shorter than average days because that kind of work tires you out.
When you are subjected to this much alcohol daily it takes a toll on the body, but there are foods and supplements that help you endure the onslaught. Alcohol is dehydrating, so pure water is essential. Alcohol strips off the cells fatty insulation. This is a benefit because alcohol dissolves old fats so they can be expelled.
Rancid lipids, as they are known, are among the most toxic substances the body has to deal with. However, too much of a good thing, dissolving, can be a problem. Making sure your diet is high in good fats like olive oil, avocado, walnut and pecans and cold water fish. These keep your cell walls fresh and lubricated. Imagine the Tin Man getting caught in the rain, that's what it feels like when the body is low in essential fatty acids.
Red wines are not only high in alcohol but also tannin, and this combination can be downright corrosive. A day of orange juice with breakfast, red wine, salsa and tomato sauce on your pasta is a prescription for acid reflux. This is a problem suffered often by tasting room staff. How much acid do you expect the body to deal with? All of those food are acidic and the human body is designed for a diet that is seventy percent alkaline. The typical American diet is seventy to eighty percent acidic. No wonder sickness care is one seventh of the Gross Domestic Product.
If you are going to have that much wine have with alkaline foods like vegetables, almonds, sunflower seeds. Choose proteins like seafood which is less acidic than fatty red meat. Use calcium tablets in between meals. The way the body neutralizes acid is by buffering them with the alkaline minerals, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium (not table salt which also contain acidic Chloride). Chewing up stalks of organic celery help. There are commercial tablets like Tums but we prefer a higher grade product from Nature's Sunshine Products called Stomach Comfort.
The acid from multiple tastings can so hard on the teeth that professionals recommend not brushing before an event so the body's natural coating can provide some protection. People often ask me what my favorite wine is, and I reply, 'It depends on what I am eating'. Wine is a wonderful digestive aid and each pairs well with a particular food, but when I have wine there is a big salad involved as part of that meal.
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