If you've ever had to pick up alcohol on the way to a house party of dinner soirée with friends, you'll be well-accustomed to the conundrum that is whether to splash the cash on a sightly nicer bottle of vino.
On entering the supermarket, the thrifty side of your brain scans the shelves for the yellow discount markers to locate a bottle under a fiver.
Meanwhile, your classy cerebral hemisphere battles with the thought of yet another night having to dilute the tangy flavoured Pinot Grigio with something nicer tasting. And, the inevitable cheap booze hangover which will have you questioning your life choices the next day, as you lie in bed surrounded by the remnants of a KFC bargain bucket.
Well, what if we told you that there's an ingredient in your kitchen that could dramatically improve the taste of cheap wine?
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's former chief technology officer revealed that his trick to improving wine is with a pinch of salt.
And no we don't mean this metaphorically as in 'take this advice with a pinch of salt', we mean it quite literally.
At a dinner party, he explains, Myhrvold was sat next to Gina Gallo of E. & J. Gallo Winery – yes, that's who you can blame for that horrific white wine hangover after New Year's Eve– who was complaining about the fact she wished she'd made a Cabernet that was more savory and less fruity.
Life problems, much?
As a result, Myhrvold put a pinch of salt in his glass of Cabernet and found it drastically improved its taste.
'Pretty soon everyone at the table was doing this,' he admitted.
Of course, this isn't to say that throwing salt in every bottle of cheap vino is going to be the answer to life's biggest conundrum, but it might be worth experimenting next time you buy an overly sweet wine.
Who knows, you might just turn out to be #Saltbae 2.0.
*We can't make too many promises about the improvement on your next day's hangover. Some things are unavoidable.*
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
