The correct services of wine adds greatly to the enjoyment of the bottle. Few white wines need to be decanted. No glass should be filled over half full in order to allow for a better development of the nose for an easier swirling.
	In opening Champagne the bottle should be twisted as opposed to twisting the cork. Champagne served too warm will taste flat, and served to cold it will lose flavor.

  April 30, 2009 (Bloomberg)

Half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life, a new study suggests. Drink beer, and you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer.

Dutch researchers followed 1,373 men for more than four decades, noting their eating and drinking habits. Men who had about 20 grams of alcohol daily -- equivalent to a half a glass of wine -- had 2 1/2 years added to their life expectancy at age 50, compared with men who didn’t drink at all, according to the research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Men who consumed only wine had twice as much added longevity.

Light alcohol intake was linked to lower cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and overall mortality in the study. Researchers had known that moderate drinking is tied to a lower risk of heart disease, possibly because of an increase in high density lipoprotein or so-called good cholesterol as well as a reduction in platelet clumping, making it more unlikely for clots to form. It is the first study to show that one kind of alcohol is superior to others in prolonging life, the researchers said.

“In this study, 70 percent of all wine consumed was red wine,” the researchers, led by Marinette Streppel of the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, said in the paper. “This suggests that the cardioprotective effect of wine could be due to a protective effect of polyphenol compounds in red wine, but other explanations cannot be ruled out.”

Polyphenols are chemical substances found in plants such as tannins and flavonoids.

The research, dubbed Zutphen Study after the Dutch town from which the participants were recruited, followed men born between 1900 and 1920 and examined them several times between 1960 and 2000.

 

Health Secrets of Red Wine Uncovered

 

THURSDAY, June 11, 2009 (Health Day News) -- Scientists already knew that drinking red wine in moderation is good for your health; now they are figuring out why.

New research is uncovering the disease-prevention secrets of a polyphenol called resveratrol, one of compounds in red wine that seems to improve health. Although the benefits have been touted for years, researchers weren't sure how polyphenols, and resveratrol in particular, worked in the body.

"The breadth of benefits is remarkable -- cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases, such as inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more," said Lindsay Brown, an associate professor of the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia and co-author of a study that will appear in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical Camp; Experimental Research.

Brown said scientists are beginning to understand how resveratrol does its work. Possible mechanisms include:

High doses of the compound may prevent cancer by increasing the process of apoptosis (programmed cell death).

Low doses improve cardiac health by increasing cellular protection and reducing damage.

Resveratrol may help remove very reactive oxidants in the body and improve blood supply to cells.

Scientists are also studying how the body absorbs resveratrol into the blood stream, since the compound is largely inactivated in the gut and liver.

"Most of the resveratrol in imbibed red wine does not reach the circulation," Stephen Taylor, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Queensland, said in a journal news release. "Interestingly, absorption via the mucous membranes in the mouth can result in up to around 100 times the blood levels, if done slowly rather than simply gulping it down."

Note: Oregon State University has more on resveratrol.

 

To your health!