Today the Champagne industry has nothing to toast. Strong hail storms hit the famous wine growing region of France and wiped out the equivalent of eight million bottles of bubbly. The strong hailstorm damaged 4,450 acres of Champagne vineyards — completely destroying about 1,000 of those. This isn’t the first storm to wreck havoc on this year’s harvest. The northeastern Champagne region was hit hard four times between late April and May, which is unfortunately the exact time that the delicate vines begin to flower. The fourth storm, which hit May 27, caused the most harm. “Of course storm and hail are not unusual phenomena in Champagne, but what is rare is to see them at this very early stage and with this level of violence,” the industry’s Champagne Committee said. Thanks to the region’s reserves, the hail damage is not expected to result in a shortage for customers this…
Is it ever okay to eat late at night?
At some point in your life you’ve been told you shouldn’t eat after a certain hour in the evening. The idea is that the food will just sit in your stomach all night causing you possible stomach pain, constipation and weight gain. Yet, we’ve all done it. So how bad really is it to eat before bed? And if you’ve missed dinner and you’re hungry, is it best to skip the meal entirely if it’s too close to bed? Erin Jennings, MS, RD, CSO, CDN, a registered dietitian at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, NY, told Real Simple that if you’re hungry, you should eat. “Your body is perfectly capable of digesting and absorbing your food at any hour of the day,” she said. But that doesn’t exactly give those high-sugar, high-fat foods like ice cream the green light. The real problem with eating late isn’t the hour necessarily…
19 Fun facts about champagne
Champagne is synonymous with celebration, and nothing says New Year’s quite like popping a bottle of bubbly. Throughout the year it might be seen as slightly snobbish, but on December 31 Champagne becomes holiday revelers’ drink of choice in countries all over the world. It seems that simply letting those bubbles fly sets the tone for a festive celebration, but what do you actually know about this fizzy favorite? Here are 19 fun facts about Champagne you likely never knew. 1. There are about 49 million bubbles in a 7500ml bottle of Champagne. 2. A standard-sized glass emits 30 bubbles every second. 3. France has the largest Champagne market (of course). The French consume 162.5 million bottles every year, or about 52 percent of the entire world production of Champagne. 4. Champagne has 3 times more carbonation than beer. 5. The pressure in a Champagne bottle is about 3 times the amount of pressure…