About the Author

In the 1990?s a news report, later titled the ?French Paradox?, was brought to the public eye after researchers discovered that the French who live on a diet of cheese, butter, organ meats, eggs and other cholesterol laden food had a lower rate of heart attack than in America. The results as to why this was so were very surprising to many: moderate and steady consumption of wine. How is wine good for your health?

Many believe red wine is better for you than white wine, because that is what early studies found. Skin from red grapes contained a powerful antioxidant called resveratrol, which was transferred into red wine during manufacturing. However, nowadays manufacturers are altering their winemaking processes for both red and white wine to boost health benefits.

Some of the more recent studies conducted from around the world have shown that wine can be a very powerful agent in helping prevent heart and lung problems and even strokes! In 2002 the American Thoracic Society found that the antioxidants from white wine helped improve lung function while in the same year the William Harvey Research Institute found that polyphenols in red grape skins helped keep arteries open and lowered the risk of strokes. University of California at Davis discovered in 1995 that coronary heart disease was reduced and research conducted in 2004 at the University of Ferrara in Italy showed that the elderly who consumed moderate amounts of wine had healthier blood vessels than those who didn?t.

Aside from these benefits there are many others specific to men or women. For men, in 2004, the Worcester Medical Center in Massachusetts found that wine helped lower the risk of a heart attack for men with high blood pressure. The Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia in 2004 found that women who consumed wine had a lower risk of ovarian cancer and the Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, St. Thomas? Hospital in London discovered wine helped with stronger bones.

The key however is moderation. What is ?moderation?? Studies have said that ?moderation? is considered to be one or two glasses a day. Drinking more than this can be bad for your health and cause more diseases than prevent them. Wine does have a rather high calorie content which can put on the pounds if not consumed in moderation. But aside from just weight gain you risk far more serious health problems such as kidney and liver disease with over consumption.

So wine drinkers raise your glasses for a toast to the benefits of a glass a day!

Labels: Bakers Rack | Barefoot Wine

&type=page">

I recently finished a wine tour of Italy?s twenty administrative regions, briefly describing each region prior to tasting a representative wine with food, and at least one imported Italian cheese. I enjoyed the experience so much that I plan to repeat it, but only after doing something similar for France and perhaps a few other countries. I am happy enough with Italian wine to continue to drink it for the rest of my days, but there are other wine-producing countries out there, and other wines to drink. I am going to give you a bit of a report on the white wines I encountered on this wine tour, but only after a quick summary of Italian white wines, as if such an endeavor was possible. Look for a similar article on Italian red wines.

You wouldn?t be alone if you immediately think red when the subject of Italian wine is raised. In spite of extreme variations in climate, soil, elevation, and other geographical conditions, every single one of Italy?s twenty regions produces white wine. Of course the percentage varies widely from 84% in the central region of Latium to 9% in the southern region of Calabria. Many of the best-known Italian white wines come from northern Italy.

But the reality of Italy wine is more complex than first meets the eye. Who would have thought that Sicily, a southern Italian region if ever there was one, produces almost as much white wine as red wine. Considering that Sicily holds first place for Italian wine production that?s a lot of white wine. In fact, Sicily?s annual white wine production is greater than the total wine production of all but five Italian regions. Not all of it is good. But not all of it is bad, and in fact some Sicilian white wine is excellent.

In chronological order we tasted a white wine from the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, the central region of Umbria, the southern region of Campagnia, the central region of Molise, the northern region of Friuli-Venezia Giuli, the southern region of Sicily, the northern region of Veneto, and finally the northern region of Tuscany while describing its neighboring region of Liguria. I was unable to find a Ligurian wine.

These eight wines varied in classification from basically unclassified table wines to IGT, DOC, and DOCG. In short all Italian wine classifications were represented. IGT stands for Indicazione Geografica Tipica, which may be translated as Typical Geographic Indication, in other words a wine that typifies its specific location. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin. DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Guarantita, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin.

The wines varied in price from $6 (actually $8 for a one-liter bottle) to $20. Interestingly enough they all contained from 12% to 12.5% alcohol. They were all 2004 or 2005 vintages. In contrast, the grapes used varied widely, including both international and strictly Italian varieties. Some wines included multiple grape varieties, others did not. And now for the question that you?ve been waiting for, what about the quality, and in particular the quality as a function of price? That too varied widely, there were both positive and negative surprises. We overpaid and there were definitely some bargains. Which was which? Read the articles.

Labels: Bakers Rack | Barefoot Wine

&type=page">