“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.”
Alex just reminded me of something incredibly important:
It’s National Wine Day!
Toast, It’s Good For You!
We all know that a glass of red wine every day tastes great, but science has shown that it’s a great way to maintain a healthy heart. Did you know the other benefits of a glass of wine? How about boosting your memory and immune system. Not only that, but wine in moderation might also help with weight loss. I mean, this stuff is gold!
Toast To Good Health And Eternal Life!
We all know how good wine tastes, but thanks to Food and Wine magazine, here are the eight great reasons you need to be drinking an “f’in Merlot” right now:
The Benefit: Promotes Longevity
The Evidence: Wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or spirits drinkers. Source: a Finnish study of 2,468 men over a 29-year period, published in the Journals of Gerontology, 2007.
The Benefit: Reduces Heart-Attack Risk
The Evidence: Moderate drinkers suffering from high blood pressure are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than nondrinkers. Source: a 16-year Harvard School of Public Health study of 11,711 men, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, 2007.
The Benefit: Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
The Evidence: Red-wine tannins contain procyanidins, which protect against heart disease. Wines from Sardinia and southwest France have more procyanidins than other wines. Source: a study at Queen Mary University in London, published in Nature, 2006.
The Benefit: Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
The Evidence: Moderate drinkers have 30 percent less risk than nondrinkers of developing type 2 diabetes. Source: research on 369,862 individuals studied over an average of 12 years each, at Amsterdam’s VU University Medical Center, published in Diabetes Care, 2005.
The Benefit: Lowers Risk of Stroke
The Evidence: The possibility of suffering a blood clot–related stroke drops by about 50 percent in people who consume moderate amounts of alcohol. Source: a Columbia University study of 3,176 individuals over an eight-year period, published in Stroke, 2006.
The Benefit: Cuts Risk of Cataracts
The Evidence: Moderate drinkers are 32 percent less likely to get cataracts than nondrinkers; those who consume wine are 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than those drinking mainly beer. Source: a study of 1,379 individuals in Iceland, published in Nature, 2003.
The Benefit: Cuts Risk of Colon Cancer
The Evidence: Moderate consumption of wine (especially red) cuts the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent. Source: a Stony Brook University study of 2,291 individuals over a four-year period, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005.
The Benefit: Slows Brain Decline
The Evidence: Brain function declines at a markedly faster rate in nondrinkers than in moderate drinkers. Source: a Columbia University study of 1,416 people, published in Neuroepidemiology, 2006.
All of these great health benefits remind me of this classic wine-related movie exchange:
Jack: “If they want to drink Merlot, we’re drinking Merlot.”
Miles: “No, if anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!”
One of the greatest movie lines of all time, and it’s related to wine!
Sideways
This classic film celebrates wine, friendship, love, disappointment, betrayal…sounds like it celebrates life! Here is the trailer for this modern masterpiece:
Paul Giamatti is Miles, a failed writer living a meager existence in San Diego as an English teacher. Thomas Haden Church is Jack, a fading television actor. The two embark on a road trip through California’s wine country. Miles wants to give his friend a nice sendoff before married life, while Jack wants one last chance to party – and that he does, with lots and lots of wine!
I can watch this movie every day – and always with a glass of wine at the ready…
I leave you with Daryl Hall and John Oates and their musical tribute to wine:
Daryl Hall & John Oates – Intravino!
Wine is so good for you that Hall & Oates once wrote a song about it, at raucous love of the grape that includes these lines:
“Gimme wine, wine, I need IntraVino
Wine, wine, I need it every day-o
Wine, wine, Mis en bouteilles au Chateau
All the time, I need wine all the time.
Six o’clock gotta have Beaujolais
Eight o’clock I open up Pouilly-Fuiss?
Love the ruby color. Grand cru classe
Never love another once I’ve savored that bouquet
Oh yeah need IntraVino”
How can you argue with that? Take a listen:
Enjoy this day of celebration!
