Is wine good for your health?

Hello dear friends! This is a recurrent question in many of our wine dinners and pairings. And sure enough, if you like wine, you've probably toasted a glass (or two) to studies indicating that drinking it is good for your health. Some research has shown that moderate wine drinkers are leaner, exercise more, and consume more antioxidants, including those not found in wine. But you may wonder if some wines are healthier than others. The short answer is yes...

With that said, I must add there is an ongoing conversation among wine scientists, marketers and drinkers about the factors in wine that can contribute to good health and anti-aging properties. Until recently, the star of the show was resveratrol, which has been said for a long time to have antioxidant properties that will keep us looking young and feeling healthy. More recently the amount of procyanidins a wine contains has definitely stolen the spotlight.

Keep reading today's post and know different kinds of wines based on the health protection they can offer. Don't forget that moderation is key, regardless of the type of drink you pour into your glass.

Dry ruby ​​reds

Medieval monasteries believed that their monks lived longer, in part, by regularly drinking red wine. In recent years, science has indicated that this could be true. According to a 2018 study, although there are specifically no official recommendations regarding these benefits, drinking red wine in moderation has a positive relationship with cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, neurological disorders and metabolic syndrome. These are the healthiest wines, with more antioxidants than all other varieties. This is because the grape skins are not removed during fermentation. The antioxidants that dark peels provide, such as procyanidins, have been associated with health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, and lipid-regulating effects, protection against heart disease and possibly longevity. Experts note that wines from southwestern France and Sardinia tend to have higher levels of procyanidins. On average, the wines from these two regions have five times more procyanidins than the wines from Spain, South America, the United States and Australia.

Orange wines

After dry rubies, your best bet is orange wine, which has been described as "white wine made like red" such as the 200 Monges White here to the left. In white wine making, the skins are usually removed right after the grapes are crushed. In orange wines, which are made from green grapes, the peels remain in contact with the juice (for a period of one week to one year), resulting in a wine with an orange hue. In addition to the color, the peels provide abundant antioxidants that are good for you.

Rosé wines

Rosé wine is made from red wine grapes, but the contact time of the juice with the rind is shorter than with red wine and orange wine. For red wine, it can be one or two months; while for a pink one, it is usually 2 to 20 hours. Less contact time means less antioxidants so although you may like rosé by the pool a lot, there is no much benefit in it apart from the refreshing effect.

Dry whites

In white wine production there is no "defined" time of contact with the skin, meaning that the phytonutrients in the skin do not reach the wine. While dry white wine is not a "bad" choice, it is noteworthy that it lacks some of the potentially protective properties of its more colorful counterparts.

Sweet whites

Sweet white wines are so named because, of course, they contain more sugar. For example, a 150 ml pour of Moscato contains 21 grams of carbohydrates, 13 of them being sugar. Compare that to the same serving of Chardonnay, which has 3 grams of carbohydrates and 1 of sugar. Think of these varieties for dessert, and turn them into occasional treats.

In general, apart from antioxidant-rich varieties, we recommend buying organic wine when possible, as it is better for the environment and to avoid pesticide residues. In a French report, 100% of the 92 wines tested contained pesticide residues. While we don't fully know the effects, some research has linked exposure to such residues with infertility. Also, organic wines do not contain added sulfites or preservatives that can trigger unpleasant side effects for some people, from stuffy nose, migraine and sneezing to asthma-like symptoms. Whatever the type, go organic whenever you can.

Look for low alcohol wines, ideally 12.5% ABV or less. Wines that are "dry", which means they are not sweet and have little or no carbohydrates that turn into sugar, tend to have higher content of polyphenols, particularly procyanidins.

Another important point: make sure you don't overdo it. Current nutrition and health guidelines recommend a maximum of one drink a day for women and two for men. For wine, a drink is defined as a 150 ml glass, which is slightly less than the size of a container of yogurt. And no, your drinking allowance doesn't "reset," which means you can't abstain for three days and then finish an entire bottle in one night. A higher than moderate alcohol intake increases the risk of heart disease and is associated with an increased risk of liver cirrhosis, high blood pressure, cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract and stroke. This means that how much you drink is more important than what you drink.

So now you know... Oh, and a quick tip: high polyphenol wines are the opposite of soft and pliable - they are robust and bold, and are often described as astringent. The bitterness of wine appears to directly correlate with the level of procyanidin in a wine. Aim for those! And also aim for apples, beans, chocolate, grape seed extract (as a supplement), tea, and pomegranates. They are great sources of polyphenols too!

And that's a wrap! Cheers!