All wines, red and white, irrespective of variety, vintage or year, and geographical indication or region, have the potential to confer 'health benefits', when consumed in moderation, that is, approximately two to three standard drinks per day.
From accumulating research results it has been proposed that approximately 75% of the cardioprotective effects of wine are due to its ethanol component, and only 25% of the effects are due to its phenolic component.
The ethanol and phenolic components have complementary actions on the cardiovascular system.
It has been suggested by overseas researchers that one variety of wine or wines from one region, may contain more phenolic compounds than other varieties and other regions.
This research has only been undertaken with a small number of samples, and the results have not been repeated by other overseas researchers, many of whom actually observed the opposite results.
There are complex reasons for these opposing results:
• The grapegrowing conditions, such as sunlight, humidity, rainfall and temperature, and nutrients, influence the phenolic content of the grapes and resultant wine;
• The winemaking conditions, such as the concentration of alcohol in the ferment, the pH value [of the juice] and the temperature at which the fermentation occurs, further influences the phenolic content of the resultant wine.
These grapegrowing and winemaking variables have different effects on each grape variety, and are different between years and regions.
Therefore, no one variety, year or region will consistently contain the most phenolic compounds, and hence be the 'most healthful'.
In addition, there are at least 10 different types of phenolic compounds in wine, all of which may have different actions on the cardiovascular system.
These actions are dependent on the amount of that compound in the wine, and the biochemistry of the human body at the time of consumption.
Therefore, the wine that you should drink to get the most 'health benefits' is the wine that you like most, provided that you drink it in moderation.
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