Virtuous vino

Last week, I made some observations on the pros and cons of tippling wine. Suffice to say, the benefits are slim, at best, if one consumes buckets of wine. Overindulgence is severely detrimental to one’s physical well-being. A glass or two of wine on a daily basis, however, can help you enjoy the full embrace of wellness.

Researchers in Holland have determined that those who enjoy a daily glass of wine can significantly increase their life expectancy by up to three years. Wine has virtues that allow the body’s immune system to combat cardio-vascular disease. A couple of glasses of wine a day decreases the risk of heart attack by 40 per cent and cerebral thrombosis by up to 25 per cent. And you simply have to love its antioxidants. Wine may even act to prevent certain cancers. Moderate consumption of red wine can diminish the possibility of lung cancer in men, and can protect against ovarian cancer in women. Wine can prevent blood clots and reduce blood vessel inflammation that might lead to memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease. Those glasses of wine could just be the elusive fountain of youth sought by Ponce De Leon.

As I mentioned last week, excess consumption will have a detrimental effect on one’s health, affecting the liver, kidneys, digestive tracts or the esophagus. And, on a less sober note, those who overindulge and suffer from the blinding impact of a hangover should take note that hangovers caused by red wine will be more severe than those caused by white wine.

THIS WEEK’S PICK
I am really excited by the upcoming new releases from all the County wineries, especially the upcoming red wine releases from 2012. It was one of those Goldilocks years when the planets were aligned, the amount of rain was adequate, the heat units were excellent and the grapes, at harvest, begged to be picked. After that, it was up to the winemakers to weave their magic to produce astounding wine.

So, I will wax poetic over the coming weeks on the whites to be released on, or prior to, Mother’s Day—along with County pinot noir and cabernet francs that will amaze with their layered complexity. But that’s for next week.