OMG: Science Says Drinking Wine Might Make You Smarter

We were pretty darn thrilled to find out that talking to our pets is a sign of intelligence (not that we had any doubt, natch), and we were utterly jealous of the office providing “Press for Champagne” buttons for their employees. But now, those two worlds have (kinda, sorta) collided, as it turns out, according to a Yale neuroscientist, drinking wine actually makes you smarter. Cheers, Einstein!

Gordon Shepherd, author of Neuroenology: How the Brain Creates the Taste of Wine, claims that wine tasting can in fact stimulate your brain more than other activities such as listening to music, doing math, or (not to make an overreaching claim or anything) “any other human behavior.” Mic (or cork?) drop.

While we’d totally be willing to accept this fact without further proof (because woo!), Shepherd explains that wine tasting engages us completely (“You don’t just put wine in your mouth and leave it there,” Shepherd told NPR, adding, “You move it about and then swallow it, which is a very complex motor act.”), it utilizes more of our brain than something like math, which uses a much more specific source of knowledge and action.

So the next time drinking wine makes you feel like you’re not quite on top of your game (i.e. you get a little tipsy), just remember that you’re giving your brain one heck of a workout.

What do you think about the claim that drinking wine stimulates your brain more than music or math? Let us know @BritandCo!

(h/t Food and Wine; photos via David Silverman + Justin Sullivan/Getty)