These "Wine Wands" Promise to Stop Your Hangovers, So We Put 'em to the Test
Hello, my name is Murphy, and I really love wine. Whether it's a glass of Pinot Nior, Sauvignon Blanc, or even a little Rosé in the Summer months, there's no doubt that wine's one of my favorite ways to kick back and relax after a long week. The only issue with my hobby? As I get older, the headaches that come with a glass or two of red have really started to set me back the following morning. To sum up: I get tired. I get cranky. I need Advil.
On the heels of one such occasion, I got a blowout with my friend Emily who works in public relations, and after hearing me complain about how my body has begun to fail me at the ripe age of 26, she offered me a unique opportunity: to try out The Wand by PureWine ($20 for 8 wands). According to the packaging, it's a nifty little invention that takes the histamines and sulfite preservatives — aka the substances that make you feel crummy in the morning — out of your glass of vino.
After getting a sample from Emily, I gave the Wine Wands a whirl (literally) while hanging out at home on a Saturday night. I had Precana — when you go to your Catholic church and talk about getting married for eight hours — the following morning, so this product really needed to work. After all, there's nothing that takes the wind out of your sails quite like being hungover in church.
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I poured myself a glass of Shiraz and took the single-use wand out of the packaging. I swirled it around for the glass for three minutes, per the instructions, and waited.
Then it was time for the taste test. By all accounts, my glass of wine tasted, well, like wine. In this moment I definitely knew I was taking a real gamble given my schedule for the following day. I couldn't see it actually working, and that made me extremely nervous (but not nervous enough not to indulge, clearly).
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Fast forward an hour-and-a-half and I was three glasses deep — I used a different wand for each glass — and curled up on the couch watching TV with my fiancé.
To be transparent, three glasses of wine — particularly red — is my hard-and-fast limit. Anything more and I will be downright ill the following day, no matter how late I sleep in, which wasn't an option for me that particular weekend. I needed to be up and at 'em by 7 a.m. sharp. But the deed was done, and all I could do was wait and see what happened.
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As I headed to bed, I put my glass in the sink and saw one of the wands I used on the counter. Out of sheer curiosity, I took a pair of scissors to the netting just to see what it was made of. Inside, I discovered tons of tiny little beads that are meant to suck up all the nasty stuff that comes in your wine bottle. Pretty cool!
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The next morning, I woke up to my alarm blaring. Although I was still sleepy, I definitely didn't have that "Holy sh*t, this is going to be a long day!" feeling I usually get when I have a bad hangover.
I'm proud to report that I didn't need any Advil that morning, nor did I feel super dehydrated while making the 45-minute drive to church. While it goes without saying that you can't take a bottle-and-a-half of Pinot Grigio to the face and still expect to feel like a Spring chicken, I did notice a big difference in my energy levels the next day. I wasn't lethargic or yawning, and I didn't want to die.
My overall rating for The Wand by PureWine ($20 for 8 wands)? 10/10. Although you can't see the magic happen with your naked eye, I find comfort in knowing I'm removing all the gunk from my beloved glass of wine. Bottoms up!