At this time of the year, something miraculous happens around the vineyards of Kent (and everywhere else growing grapes in the northern hemisphere for that matter); pruning has stopped, the sap begins to rise, and seemingly dead vines will start to show signs of new life in the form of green shoots.

Timely then to re-consider the long-held belief that wine consumption in moderation bestows a whole range of rejuvenating benefits on our bodies. These days this also involves more than simply drinking the stuff!  Wine Spas - where cabernet scrubs, champagne facials and other grape-derived beauty treatments abound under the banner of Vinotherapy - are among the latest incarnations of our quest for eternal youth.

However, those of us who are diligently drinking two glasses of red wine a day to keep the doctor away, may be dismayed by recent research that suggests not just any old red wine will do…

Roger Corder, Pharmacologist and Professor of Experimental Therapeutics at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, stated in his book “The Wine Diet”, that "My central message is for the consumer to be more discerning. People think they are doing themselves good by knocking back quantities of red alcoholic plonk”.

One strand of our belief in the health-giving properties of red wine, is the so-called French Paradox, which might help to explain just what it is about the French diet which whilst containing equivalent levels of fat, and leading to similar levels of blood cholesterol, means that roughly 4 times as many of us are dying each year from heart disease in the UK than across the Channel.

According to the findings of Corder’s study, however, we would each have to consume 1000 litres of wine a day in order to experience the antioxidant benefits of Resveratrol - the chemical found in red wine, believed to help defend the body's cells against the effects of ageing.

When it comes to understanding what it is about red wines that keeps us healthy, Corder believes that the significant regional variations in levels of longevity in France are more revealing. He analysed the wines of certain regions such as Gers in France for example, where the number of men aged 90 or over is twice the national average, he found that the local wine, Madiran, made from the highly tannic Tannat grape, contained high levels of another plant chemical (or polyphenol) called procyanadin.

He claimed that whilst drinking wine high in procyanadins reduces the risk of heart disease, modern wine-making methods, where wines are produced swiftly and without extended contact with the grape skins (reducing the tannins) may make them more appealing to drink without food, but certainly lowers the levels of this heart protecting chemical.

So what does this all mean for the consumer? Well, whether we believe Corder’s findings or not,  being more selective about our wine; reducing our intake of mass-produced red wine that is also likely to be sweeter and higher in alcohol, in favour of more traditionally made wine that needs to be drunk with food to be appreciated is probably no bad thing for our health all round. If like me you’d quite like to hedge your bets here’s a beautifully made wine that is both traditional in style and made from Perricone, that some claim has the highest levels of Resveratrol of any grape variety.

Available to buy from Divino Wines, based in Beckenham, but trading online.

Perricone, Tamburello, Monreale, Sicily, 2004, £12.50
Monreale DOC is wedged between Marsala and Palermo, and this wine is produced there by a husband and wife team (he's a paediatrician, and she looks after the vineyards which are farmed organically). Perricone, a grape variety which dates back to ancient Greek times had virtually died out until the Tamburello family decided to try and revive it; at one point there were only a few vines left which they had to take cuttings from. 

Web: www.divinowines.co.uk