The Double Whammy of Wine!..what is it? Well, we all love a glass of wine…and I just love those sunshine holidays, touring wine vineyards… Napa Valley in California, Osoyoos in Canada, my two favorites, with their tastings! But an underlying caution, that if we follow, does not have to throw too much wrench into the whole idyllic process that we all have conditioned into our minds! Unfortunately always remember that alcohol itself is carcinogenic…that is why moderation is very much an overriding concern. With that as a opener statement, reality many biochemical activity when we ingest alcohol…just take look at our article on Alcohol and its effect relating to sunlight and skin exposure! But let us take all this as an ‘override’ that we just handle…and moderation perhaps the best course!
There are suggestions that the resveratrol in the wine…particularly reds…is good for our health, and somehow those Mediterranean diets have the steal on us! I have dealt with this elsewhere, but in a nutshell I really believe Mediterranean diets all fine…in that increased vegetables, fresh fish, cheeses, are all good! Even tolerating…unless allergies… sulfites, as necessary evil for wine preservation and longevity! Diet combined with glass of wine or two…probably benefits more from social and relaxing consequences…BUT the real secret…it’s access to sunlight! Consequentially the massive advantage of those living near the Mediterranean, and naturally exposed to sunlight with natural vitamin D and infrared spectra… all just steals the edge on say northern Dublin or Belfast…where for most of the year sun hidden behind that cloud and rain!
But back to Double Whammy of Wine! It’s what is added!
It is really HOW the wine is often sweetened for the North American palate. In California adding sugar to the fermentation process is strictly forbidden but not elsewhere! But there are subtle ways around this, including ‘unfermented’ grape juice! a five-ounce glass of red table wine, according to the Department of Agriculture, contains about 0.9 grams of total sugar…while a glass of chardonnay contains about 1.4 grams. But sweet dessert wine, typically served in a smaller two- to three-ounce glass, contains as much as 7 grams of sugar. Wow! That’s the Double Whammy of Wine!: It’s the sugar!! AND the alcohol!
