If you’ve ever wondered why you can pound 18 Coors Lights in a sitting and not feel a thing but after a couple glasses of Prosecco at a work happy hour you’re asking your married boss to hook up in the bathroom, wonder no more, my friend.
In a study published in Alcohol and Alcoholism, researchers found that sparkling wine and champagne contain H2CO3, a compound of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), which can actually make you feel tipsier than regular wine, despite equal alcohol content.
Via Business Insider:
The scientists divided twelve volunteers into two groups. Some received two glasses of freshly uncorked champagne, while others were given the same drink, only it had been stirred or shaken — in other words non-carbonated. The subjects in both groups each received the same amount of alcohol, exactly 0.6 grams per kilogram of body weight.
The two freshly uncorked glasses of champagne pushed the alcohol content in subjects’ blood to 0.54 parts per thousand after five minutes. The stirred version, on the other hand, only pushed the subjects’ alcohol levels up to 0.39 parts per thousand. The subjective feeling of being less tipsy corresponded to the values in their blood, with perception and reaction tests also confirming this result.
Nikolaus Merkt, an expert in viticulture from the University of Hohenheim, claims:
“Carbon dioxide in sparkling drinks is what increases the permeability of your biomembranes. Better circulation means more alcohol can be absorbed into the bloodstream.”
Moral of the story: if you’re arriving to a party late and looking to get a jump on the boozing, have a couple glasses of sparkling wine and you’ll be texting ex-girlfriends in no time.
[h/t Business Insider]
