Eat Clean, Drink Clean!

Red wine is my migraine trigger.  Yes, I'm serious.  (Cue depressing music and grab the tissue box, right?!)

Drink a glass.  Wait an hour.  And, WHAM.  Intense pain that starts at the base of my head and spends the next 7-12 hours travelling from its origin, to rest behind my left eye.  Like clockwork.

Not every time, but I'll wager that it's seven times out of ten...enough to make it some pretty painful odds (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).

For someone just starting out on their wine adventure, that may not have been a truly devastating discovery.  For me, stab me through the heart and take away my birthday!

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not a lush.  I just LOVE WINE.  I love that it's social.  I love that it's a celebration.  I love that it's a progression and a cultural equalizer.  I love it for it's art form, sexiness, nuances and character.  I love it for it's familiarity and for it's unknown.  

And I know a lot of folks feel the same.

After countless hours, writhing in pain in a darkened room, though, I was pretty resolute that I was going to have to give up my liquid infatuation.

Enter Bruce Hansen.

I'll never forget the look on his face when I asked for a spit bucket and proceeded to spit out his offerings which is, typically, a perfectly acceptable thing to do (albeit not the most elegant thing, especially for a "lady").

"I know you didn't just spit out my wine!" Bruce exclaimed, shaking his head.
"I have to," I explained.  "It's my migraine trigger."
"No it's not!" he retorted.
"Um, I'm quite certain that it is!" I argued.
Bruce took a deep breath.  "Look," he said confidently, "you're not getting a migraine from the wine, you're getting  a migraine from the chemicals in some wines.  Mine are clean.  There's no chemicals in my vineyard are there certainly aren't any chemicals in my wine.  You're not going to get a migraine from it."

WHAT?!  Could this be true?  Could it really be that the door of my wino world hadn't been locked forever, but merely closed during reconstruction?!  The thought of it had me elated!

So I brought a bottle home with me and drank a glass.  It was so delectable that I had another, quite certain now that a night of agony was imminent.  But shoot, if I'm experimenting I decide that I've either got to go big or go home.  Wait.  I was home.  Nonetheless, I had to really test this theory (not to mention the wine was PHENOMENAL).

And then I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And after waiting just a tad bit more, I went to bed.

And woke up the next morning.  Normal.  Fine.

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, no migraine!

Now, I'm not a health nut, but I definitely give thought to what I eat.  I eat green, eat organic, eat raw, eat clean whenever possible.  Why it never occurred to me to give my beloved beverage the same scrutiny, is beyond me.  But I never really did.

And let me caveat all of this by saying that finding "migraine free" wine (which has become a very personal mission) isn't necessarily an easy process.  Truth be told, its not exactly copacetic to outright ask a winemaker if they have added chemicals into their pet product.

So I've become somewhat of a detective.  And here is my playbook.

SIP certified vineyard?  Equates to no chemical intervention during the growing process. If a winery property has gone through the process of obtaining this honored stamp, they are certifiably natural minded
Organic farming.  No brainer.
Wines that have been aged for a longer period of time.  Good indication that they haven't been "enhanced" or "altered"
Put any of these facets together (and of course, taking into consideration that I enjoy this particular wine) and it's a go!  A bottle's coming home with me.

And so far - knock on wood and raise a toast - so good!