14 Feb Wine & Health

by Brian Carter, Winemaker

I’m sure that you all have been besieged recently by articles about the health aspects of wine, as I have. There has been a recommendation that a cancer warning be added to the existing warning label on all alcoholic beverages. I thought I would share my thoughts on the subject.

Obviously, since I produce, sell and enjoy wine myself, I have a perspective that favors its consumption. I also understand that there are dangers in excess consumption as well as drinking while driving and while pregnant. The relationship between alcohol and cancer has been known for some time, particularly regarding breast cancer. To my knowledge there is not any significant science that has recently been brought to light showing serious new dangers. This new push is mostly brought on by politics. In fact, recent science seems to be favorable towards moderate consumption. A Congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine (NASAM) recently addressed eight key health questions around alcohol consumption, including cancer. Their conclusion was: “compared with never consuming alcohol, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower all-cause mortality.” It is also known that red wine contains resveratrol, flavonoids, and other polyphenols that have been linked to cardiovascular benefits and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds are largely absent in spirits. A 2022 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found higher cancer risk associated with spirits compared to wine and beer.

Perhaps the best perspective on the subject was written by Karen McNeil in her article What I Wish I Could Tell the Surgeon General, where she writes “…what the anti-alcohol dogmatists don’t seem to get: wine isn’t just alcohol.” I think this is the most important point. When you put a glass of wine to your nose and lips, the experience can take you to a foreign country, perhaps through a memory you had in Tuscany. It can take you to a memory with an old close friend. No beverage is associated with a place, history and a culture like wine. No beverage has the food friendliness of wine, it can make ordinary meals into feasts that will provide you with a lifetime of pleasure. No other beverage has the extraordinary ability to age over sometimes decades of time, giving you an experience of going back to the same wine again and again to discover the discerning changes wine aging provides. Wine is community, wine is friendship, wine is family, wine is the land, wine is jobs and the economy. WINE IS LIFE!

As is so often stated, everyone needs to make their own decisions on what, when and how much to drink. It is a personal decision. I encourage you to take advice from your doctor and your loved ones.

I recently read an article that stated loneliness is at epidemic levels across the U.S. and is correlated with higher risks of many chronic diseases. Apparently doctors and therapists are writing their patients prescriptions for socializing. Well now… what about a glass of wine instead of going to the pharmacy?

Live long and enjoy yourself while you do it.
BDC