'Abstinence is bad for you," trumpeted the press in August, while reporting on a new study published in the journal "Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research." The findings showed that during the 20-year study of a group of 1,824 participants between the ages 55 and 65, 69 percent of the abstainers died, compared with just 41 percent of moderate drinkers.
Of course, other factors may have affected the outcome, and there have been many studies that have shown alcohol in a less positive light. But those of us who enjoy a tipple or two can't help but be cheered by the news. To celebrate before the potentially dire tidings of the next scientific report are in, now might be a good time to recommend some reasonably priced wines suitable for those who favor a moderate drinking routine.
With health benefits in mind, first up is Chilean wine. Long sunny days and shorter nights cooled by air streaming down from the peaks of the Andes give Chilean grapes a ripeness that, combined with high acidity, produces a wine rich in flavonoids. Flavonoids, a polyphenolic compound found in the skin of grapes, have antioxidant properties that are purported to be instrumental in preventing heart disease and cancer, making a glass or two of Chilean wine a potential boost to your system. Red wines are particularly high in flavonoids because grape skin pulp is kept in the juice during the fermentation process, whereas for white wine, it is usually discarded.