"If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation, with meals, and when consumption does not put you or others at risk."

1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

There is now a worldwide research consensus that moderate wine and alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk for coronary heart disease.

"Numerous well-designed studies have concluded that moderate drinking associated with improved cardiovascular health," wrote the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the US government alcohol research agency, in 1996.

According to a 1996 report from the American College of Cardiology, moderate drinkers "have a 40 per cent to 50 per cent reduction in coronary artery disease risk compared with individuals who are abstinent."

Several studies have provided evidence that wine and alcohol are likely to benefit the cardiovascular system by raising the level of HDL cholesterol, lowering the level of LDL cholesterol and inhibiting the clotting of blood platelets.

A number of large-scale studies have also reported that moderate wine and alcohol consumption results in overall mortality benefits, increasing life expectancy for drinkers compared to nondrinkers. According to the American Heart Association in 1996, "The lowest mortality occurs in those who consume one or two drinks per day."

Studies of note in the past few years include:

• The Largest Study on Wine Consumption in Men, led by "French Paradox" researcher Serge Renaud and published in "Epidemiology" in 1998, found "up to a 30 per cent mortality reduction in all-cause mortality for moderate drinkers".

• Data from the Cancer Prevention Study II, published in 1997 in "The New England Journal of Medicine", showed that "overall death rates were lowest among men and women who reported having one drink daily".

• The Copenhagen City Heart Study, in 1995, examining over 13,000 Danish men and women, found that "low to moderate intake of wine associated with lower mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and other causes".

• The First Large-scale Study on Mainland China, examining 18,000 middle-aged Chinese men found in 1997 that "death rates among moderate drinkers were lower for cancer and non-cancer causes".

"The link between flavonoids and the atherosclerosis is based partly on the evidence that some flavonoids possess antioxidant properties and have been shown to be potent inhibitors of LDL oxidation in vitro. For example, the phenolic substances in red wine inhibit oxidation of human LDL." The American Heart Association, Circulation, 1997.

 

Research on the so-called "French Paradox" and the Copenhagen City Heart Study have pointed to potential wine-specific benefits, which scientists believe may be due not only to wine’s ethyl alcohol component but also to the presence of phenolic compounds in wine. More than three dozen studies

have identified protective effects of compounds in wine, but many of these studies have been in vitro (in test tube) and research is not yet conclusive for humans. However, scientists have found wine phenolics to potentially reduce LDL cholesterol oxidation, create a more favourable DDL-LDL ratio, inhibit platelet aggregation and possibly protect against other factors involved in atherosclerosis and cancer.

 

Scientists are calling for large-scale clinical trials to confirm in vitro and preminary in vivo (in humans) results.

 

Recent scientific studies have pointed to potential health effects of moderate wine and alcohol consumption that extend beyond a reduction in heart disease risk. Large cohort studies such as Harvard University’s Physicians" Health Study and Nurses" Health Study continue to report results that associate moderate consumption with potentially favourable health effects. While there are only a limited number of these preliminary studies, these research advances are important enough to be acknowledged when reviewing the full scientific spectrum.

• In 1998, Gary Curham, M.D., Sc.D., and Colleagues from Harvard University found that wine consumption was associated with a 59 per cent reduced risk of kidney stones in women – the strongest inverse association found among beverages tested. The researchers concluded, "An increase in total fluid intake can reduce risk for kidney stones, and the choice of beverages may be meaningful".

• A French Research Team led by Jean Marc Orgogozo, M.D., concluded in "Revue Neurologique" in 1997 that "contrary to common belief, moderate wine consumption has no deleterious effect on cognition. On the contrary, it was associated in this study with a significantly lower incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease".

• Data published in 1998 by Thomas Obisesan, M.D., and associates in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society" showed that wine consumption may reduce the risk for age-related mascular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness for those over 65.

• Analyzing Data from Harvard University’s Physicians" Health Study, researchers found in 1995 that "moderate alcohol consumption among healthy people may be associated with increased insulin sensitivity and a reduced risk of diabetes".

• Also in 1995, a Study published in the British Medical Journal on English males, health professionals found a reduced risk for adult-onset diabetes among drinkers.

• Recent studies have associated wine and alcohol consumption with a reduction in digestive disorders.

• In 1998, results from research by Gary Zaloga, M.D., from the Bowman Gary School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, stated that "red wine is an effective inhibitor of secretory diarrhoea induced by cholera toxin". German researchers from the University of Ulm found "a negative association between the amount of alcohol consumed and H pylori infection seen for both beer and wine, although the association was slightly more pronounced for wine. In 1995, West Virginia University investigator Martin Weisse, M.D., reported in the British Medical Journal that red and white wine efficiently wiped out three bacteria responsible for illnesses caused by food, salmonella, shigella and E coli.

Wine as a Mealtime Beverage

 

Researchers have pointed out that the customary consumption of wine with meals may be particularly beneficial. Drinking with meals, according to some studies, may enable both the alcohol and the phenolic compounds in wine to counter adverse effects of fatty foods during the critical digestive phase.Other studies have pointed out that the healthful lifestyle traits reported for wine consumers may contribute to advantages in health and longevity.

• Swiss researchers reported in 1998 that alcohol consumed during a meal may help reduce the proliferation of smooth muscle cells within the arteries, which is common in atherosclerosis. They note that "ethanol may reduce cardiovascular risk by modulating vascular muscle cell growth during the postprandial period (after meal)".

• University of Buffalo Researcher, Maurizio Trevisan, M.D., presented findings at 1995 conference noting that cardiovascular benefits were more pronounced when wine was consumed with meals. "This is one of the first studies to indicate that the way you drink is going to make a difference" concluded Dr. Trevisan.

• Dutch scientists published a report in 1994 in the British Medical Journal, which found that alcohol consumed with a meal may prevent blood clotting triggered by fat. "Moderate alcohol consumption with dinner effects plasminogen activator inhibitor activity," they write. "The effects observed in the early morning are consistent with a decrease in risk of coronary heart disease in moderate drinkers."

• Writing about the French Parodox in 1992 in The Lancet, Renaud states, "Because wine is mostly consumed during meals, it is absorbed more slowly, and thus has a prolonged effect on blood platelets at a time when they are under the influence of alimentary lipids that are known to increase their reactivity."

Historically, wine has been an integral part of the diet and a symbolic part of religious and cultural activities throughout the world. Today, it is included in various food guide pyramids such as the Mediterranean, Asian, Latin American and Vegetarian Diet Pyramids released by Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust and International nutrition experts. The most recent federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans states, "Alcoholic beverages have been used to enhance the enjoyment of meals by many societies throughout human history."

Source : Wine Institute of America, Issue in Focus, Fall 1998

Two heart-warming stories should lift the spirit of today’s busy executives.

First, the siesta after lunch is good for the heart, but it must be short, no more than 20 minutes, otherwise it means waking up to a bad-tempered afternoon.

Apparently, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, perfected the siesta by dozing off on his throne – never in bed – holding a heavy iron key and the moment it drops to the ground, it’s time to get up.

Deprived of the luxury of the siesta, today’s business executives can and do catch 40 winks in the privacy of their office, or if they work in Spain, they can pop into a siesta-saloon.

Thanks to an enterprising Barcelona businessman, busy executives can get a good rub-down, one of those anti-stress massages, in a special chair, then covered with a blanket and lulled to doze off.

The brain, say the experts, need to disconnect briefly after lunch as well as dinner, and a good way to easy up is a siesta or catch 40 winks and no more, otherwise sleep takes over.

And especially after a heavy lunch, a bit too much sleep can be bad for the heart.

Now the first good health wine guide is on the table, the fruits of research work carried out by a team from the University of Glasgow, the city with world’s highest incidence of heart disease.

The Glasgow team, supported by a 5 million pound grant from supermarket chain Safeway, has tested 65 different red wines and picked out the best to help fight off heart disease and cancer.

Topping the list are the recently produced Chilean cabernet sauvignon because they contain the highest levels of flavonol anti-oxidants, thanks to the warm climate in which they are grown.

A warm climate, say the experts, allows the grapes, especially the smaller ones, to ripen fully with higher levels of flavonol than French grapes which are plucked early to avoid the bad weather.

The level of flavonol is found just under the surface of the skin of the fruit and smaller grapes have a higher proportion of skins in a bunch and therefore more of the anti-oxidant.

Similarly, the researchers found Chiantis to be flavonol-rich as they are grown in Tuscany from thicker-skinned grapes while a bottle of Spanish merlot or Chateaux de l’Hospital are also better health options.

For those who don’t drink, the natural pigment that colours the wine red is also found in tomatoes, especially the Spanish cherry-sized ones with around 10 times the level of the good stuff than others.

So to stay healthy, have a good lunch, wash it down by cheap cabernet and snooze off. For the teetotallers, the humble cherry-size tomato will also do the trick.

Source : Tan Kah Peng, London City Walk

Here's To Your Health

Is it now "medically correct" for a physician to prescribe a little wine to lower the risk of heart disease?

 

The United States and most of the countries of Northern Europe are what are known as "temperance communities," where alcohol is less commonly consumed in the form of wine as it is in the form of beer or spirits, where the public focus is on the abuse of alcohol and where the extremes of abstention and excessive use are common. In the past, physicians, who often treat patients suffering many of the effects of alcohol misuse – from drunk driving to spouse abuse to cirrhosis of the liver – have been reluctant to say anything favorable about

potential health benefits of the moderate use of alcohol. Mainly, they feared that the public would use such information as an excuse to drink more heavily. Yet data showing that moderate consumption of alcohol is a powerful preventive factor for some diseases, and increasing evidence suggesting that balanced information on the effects of alcohol consumption may not lead to increased abuse, are finally convincing some American and northern European physicians to speak out. A number of factors have contributed to this change.

 

Epidemiologists, scientists who study the causes of diseases and ways of preventing them, have known for many years that moderate amounts of alcohol seem to be protective against coronary heart disease. But this message was quite a shock to the American public in November 1991, when Morely Safer of the television news show 60 Minutes told viewers about the French Paradox: the fact that the French have low rates of coronary heart disease despite a high-fat diet and other risk factors, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He attributed it to their regular consumption of red wine – to "this inviting glass!" Does wine consumption contribute to a healthier heart?

 

For years, we have been seeing very large differences from country to country in the reported rates of deaths from coronary heart disease. The regions that currently have the highest rates are Scotland, Northern Ireland, Finland and eastern Europe. The nation with the lowest rate – with only one-fifth the number of deaths from heart diseases as northern Europe – is Japan, a result primarily of the very low amounts of fat in the traditional Japanese diet. And we have always explained the low rates of heart disease in Italy, Spain and Greece by pointing to a similar aspect of their culture – what is known as the Mediterranean diet.

 

But France has even lower rates of coronary heart disease than does Italy or Greece. Current data suggest that the reason for this is not in the genes, as the French tend to have similar genetic patterns that affect cholesterol and heart disease as do people in regions with much higher rates. (It may come as a shock to them, but research suggests that the French are not a genetically superior race.)

 

Several theories have been offered as explanation for the low occurrence of heart disease among the French, including their high intake of fruits and vegetables containing high levels of vitamin E, beta-carotene and other antioxidants (substances that help protect against many diseases). Compared with Americans, the French also get lower percentage of their fat intake from red meat, as meat in France is very low in fat and the portions there are generally smaller than those in the United States.

 

Of the numerous hypotheses, the one that has received the most scientific support points to the fact that the French consume large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, particularly in the form of wine. There have been a large number of studies relating the consumption of all types of alcohol to the risk of heart disease, and the results have been remarkably consistent: Individuals who consume alcohol regularly and in moderate amounts have fewer heart attacks than those who don’t drink at all.

It’s now commonly accepted in the medical community that alcohol can reduce the risk of conditions associated with atherosclerosis, the gradual "silting up" of arteries that occurs so commonly in Western civilizations and can often lead to heart attack. (Particularly important in the United States are heart disease and stroke, the No. 1 and No. 3 causes of death in that country.) And we now understand many of the reasons for this. We have identified many of alcohol’s biologic, physiologic effects. Alcohol in any form affects the blood fats – it increases HDL cholesterol, the "good cholesterol" that lowers the risk of heart disease, and it tends to slightly decrease the LDL cholesterol, the "bad cholesterol" that is the major contributing factor to atherosclerosis.

But alcohol also favorably affects the coagulation, or clotting, of blood within the arteries, which contributes to the second factor in heart attacks: thrombosis. It is usually a blood clot plugging up a narrowed artery that precipitates a heart attach or stroke. We now know that alcohol, especially red wine, will decrease the stickiness of blood platelets, which form clumps that lead to blood clots. Alcohol also has favorable effects on fibrinolysis, the dissolving of clots that form within arteries.

There are a number of other mechanisms by which alcohol reduces coronary heart disease risk, including beneficial effects on glucose and insulin levels, which may reduce the risk of diabetes, a major contributor to heart attacks. Also, part of the protection that women get from moderate drinking – and alcohol seems to provide women with the same benefits it affords to men – may relate to an increase in estrogen levels. The estrogen tends to lower the risk of osteoporosis and fractures, as well as the risk of heart disease.

Based on all of the available research data, we can conclude that abstaining from alcohol, that being a nondrinker, should be added to the list of important risk factors for coronary heart disease.

It is not the amount of alcohol, however, but the pattern of drinking that is most important. It takes only a very small amount of alcohol to help prevent heart disease, but it needs to be consumed on a regular basis. This may be because the effects of alcohol consumption on thrombosis are short-term – they last only a day or so. For example, after a person consumes alcohol, his or her platelets are less sticky for only 24 to 48 hours, then they go back to their usual state; they may even "overcompensate," becoming abnormally sticky and more likely to cause a clot.

The short-term beneficial effects were well-demonstrated a few years ago by Dr. Rodney Jackson, an epidemiologist in New Zealand who has long had an interest in the prevention of heart disease. Jackson and his colleagues compared the risk of myocardial infection, or heart attack, among drinkers who had recently consumed alcohol to that among drinkers who had not. The researchers found that if a regular drinker had had one or more drinks within the preceding 24 hours, his or her risk was reduced by about 25 percent to 50 percent compared with drinkers who averaged the same amount of alcohol but had not had anything to drink in the same period.

These results suggest that you should consume alcohol on a regular basis, perhaps daily. Some might even say that is dangerous to go more than 24 hours without a drink.

Unfortunately, most Americans do not have healthy alcohol-consumption patterns – many tend to drink nothing all week and then binge-drink on the weekends. In contrast, many Europeans still have wine with their meals every day, so their platelets never show the rebound effect that may relate to an increased risk of heart disease. This should serve as a reminder that it is not how much you drink, but how regularly you do so, that is most important.

Furthermore, alcohol may be especially beneficial to your health when it is consumed with meals, rather than on an empty stomach. It has long been known that, for a given amount of alcohol, the blood alcohol level rises only about half as high when the alcohol is consumed with food. And in a recent study in Italy, people who consumed wine with their meals were much less likely to die than those who consumed their wine at other times. The best pattern appears to be regular wine consumption with meals – every day, but only a small amount each day.

I am often asked, "Is wine, particularly red wine, better than spirits or beer in terms of preventing heart disease?" Actually, it seems that all types of alcohol can provide protection against coronary heart disease.

Researchers, however, are rapidly accumulating new data that indicate that many of the biologically active substances (other than alcohol) in wine, particularly in red wine – tannins, phenols, resveratrol and quercetin, to name only a few – are powerful antioxidants, tend to reduce blood clotting and have other effects that should reduce heart disease risk. For example, studies conducted on dogs and humans at the Universityf Wisconsin have shown that moderate amounts of red wine prevent blood platelets from clumping together and forming a blood clot, whereas similar amounts of white wine or other types of alcohol do not. There must be something in red wine other than alcohol that gives the added protection.

A number of epidemiological studies have shown that wine drinkers do better than beer and spirits drinkers in terms of disease outcomes, as well. For example, in a study of more than 100,000 adults conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in California, Dr. Arthur Klatsky and his colleagues found lower rates of heart disease among wine drinkers – whether white or red – than among drinkers of other beverages. Similar results have been reported from studies performed in Copenhagen and Scotland. But it must be taken into account that, at least in countries where wine is not deeply embedded in the culture, wine drinkers are different in many ways from beer or spirits drinkers. In the United States, for example, they tend to be better educated, have higher incomes, smoke less and exercise more than beer drinkers.

It is difficult, then, for an epidemiologist to be sure that wine drinkers are healthier because they drink wine, or whether the results of studies conducted on wine drinkers (in America, at least) are what they are simply because the subjects have healthier lifestyles. Scientists are attempting to solve this dilemma through studies performed on animals in the laboratory; so far, results have shown greater protection from wine than from other alcoholic beverages. With more research, we should know within the next few years if wine is best – if the combination of alcohol and the many other active substances in red wine provides greater protection against cardiovascular disease in humans than does alcohol in other forms.

Why use alcohol? Why not just eat a healthy diet to prevent heart disease?

 

Some physicians worry that if they begin to prescribe alcohol to their non-drinking patients to lower their risk of heart disease, they might inadvertently increase their patients’ risk of alcohol abuse. These doctors argue that we do not have to use alcohol to prevent coronary heart disease because we know other ways: You can

simply lose weight and change your diet to lower your blood pressure and your cholesterol level. But they do not appreciate how difficult it is for someone to lose 10 to 20 pounds of weight (and keep it off) or how hard it is for people to adopt a very low-fat and low-cholesterol diet and stick with it.

 

Furthermore, we have some interesting data from the Framingham Study, an epidemiological study, named for the Massachusetts town where it is based, that followed the health of a group of people from 1948 to 1993 to learn about the causes of heart disease. Our analyses suggest that the moderate use of alcohol is more effective than most other lifestyle changes that people adopt to lower their risk of heart disease. For example, let us suppose that someone wants to lower his or her cholesterol and blood pressure by changing certain life habits. He would need to follow a strict low-fat diet, start exercising like mad, cut out salt, lose a good amount of weight and probably take up meditation to lower his cholesterol by 30 points or his blood pressure by 20 points. The Framingham Study has shown that moderate consumption of alcohol, rather than not drinking it at all, can have a greater effect on heart health than even these substantial reductions in blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Of what are usually considered to be feasible changes in lifestyle habits, data from the Framingham Study suggest that only stopping smoking would have a larger beneficial effect on heart disease risk than for a non-drinker to begin to have a drink or two each day.

 

Also, it has recently been shown that it is not enough to simply tell people to eat better. Reports from the widely cited Nurses’ Health Study, based at Harvard, have shown that the reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease associated with higher amounts of vitamins was much greater for individuals who consumed at least 15 grams of alcohol (a little over one drink) per day than it was for non-drinkers. This seems to suggest that adding a little wine to a healthy diet is preferable to just following a healthy diet.

While many studies have shown that breast cancer rates are higher among heavy drinkers than among non-drinkers, a number of research reports suggest that a small increase in risk begins to appear among women who normally consume only one drink per day. This is not found consistently in all studies, however. At the Institute on Lifestyle & Health at Boston University, of which I am the director, we have just completed a study of wine, beer and spirits as they relate to breast cancer, using data from the part of the Framingham Study that focused on women, following the health of more than 5,000 women for 25 to 45 years. We found that the large group of women who never consumed alcohol throughout their lives had the same risk of breast cancer as those who consumed any type of alcohol.

It is also interesting to note that women in Italy, France and Spain consume considerably more alcohol – especially in the form of wine – as do women in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States yet the rates of breast cancer among the former group are actually somewhat lower than those among the second. There may be differences in lifestyle habits that make comparisons between these countries difficult, but this breast cancer statistic points out that there are still real questions regarding the relationship between light or moderate consumption of wine or alcohol and this disease.

Even granting the positive effects of alcohol consumption, not all non-drinking women should rush out and start consuming alcohol. Because many studies have shown an increase in risk of breast cancer from even moderate drinking, younger women and women who may be at increased risk for breast cancer because of their family history should discuss their decisions regarding drinking with their lifestyles. (In fact, anyone making such a decision should consult his or her doctor.)

We must keep in mind, however, that a postmenopausal woman in the United States is much more likely to die from heart disease or stroke – diseases for which she would be at lower risk if she consumed a little alcohol daily – than she is to die of breast cancer. On average, such women live longer if they regularly consume small amounts of alcohol than if they abstain, primarily because they are less likely to die of the cardiovascular diseases that are still the country’s leading causes of death.

It depends on how much you drink. We know that heavy alcohol consumption – leading to alcohol abuse – is very harmful to the individual doing the drinking, to those around him or her and to society. But if you are a moderate and responsible drinker, are you likely to live a longer or a shorter number of years than you would if you were not a consumer of alcoholic beverages? When comparing causes of death among different populations, epidemiologists prefer to look at total mortality rates, not disease-specific rates. (Even though physicians in different countries or regions may use different criteria when assigning causes of death, they are all pretty good in being able to tell if someone is alive or dead!) And from almost every study done on the connections between alcohol and mortality, we know that the net effect of the consumption of one or two drinks a day is a lower death rate.

For example, in a recently concluded American Cancer Society survey of almost 500,000 people that examined the effects of alcohol consumption on the risk of dying, it was found that the mortality rates of men and women who reported that they averaged one or two drinks per day was 20 percent lower than those of the non-drinkers. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! Something you enjoy may actually be good for your health.

Source: R. Curtis Ellison, M.D.

Notable Wine Lovers Speak Out On Drinking and Health

I didn’t seriously drink wine until I went to France after World War II, around 1948. Wine wasn’t developed much in this country, so the prices in France were great. I started drinking with enthusiasm and I remember buying Chateau d’Yquem for $3, if you can believe it. Living in France, you get used to having wine with everything except breakfast. Unfortunately, when I work, I don’t drink at lunch, but I have a glass every day with dinner. As you get older, you shouldn’t waste time drinking bad wine. In this age of business and speed, it’s important to take time out, eat a proper meal and sip wine. The fact that people drink wine to relax and enjoy life is, in itself, enough of a health benefit for everyone.

Wine has been a part of my life since I was a young boy, when I helped my uncle make simple, Italian-style wines. I remember going to North Beach in San Francisco and having wine for the family poured into casks. And I remember our family’s tradition of eating cracked crab and sourdough bread every Friday with an accompanying Chardonnay. Wine has always been on my family’s table, providing an enhancement to our meals, adding to our quality of life. Knowing what we know now about wine and its relationship to a healthy lifestyle only goes to show that we shouldn’t so quickly dismiss ideas and traditions from our past. The old saying "in vino veritas" rings very true for me.

I’ve been drinking wine since my teens. I drink wine every day because I adore it and it suits me down to the ground. I really can’t eat a meal without drinking wine; it’s almost a physical impossibility. I swear I don’t digest food as well without it.

In France, it’s common for parents to put a little wine in children’s water to give the water better flavor. So, I’ve really been drinking since I was a baby. Now, I don’t drink as often as I would wish. When I’m working, my interest is more in tasting the wine than drinking it, but when I go out I can drink half a bottle on a low day. I drink at least three times a week – about half a glass every night after work with my meal. The way wine is made is very much the way food is made; the chef is unique to his own food and style just as the winemaker is to his wine. I have the same passion and admiration for the winemaker as I do the chef.

Wine is part of my lifestyle. As I got more involved in research and understanding the benefits of wine, I included it more as part of a healthy diet. There’s a clear relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and lower risk of coronary heart disease, but whether red wine is necessarily better than other alcohol is yet to be determined. I’ve been drinking wine my whole life – well, for at least 20 years – and I now average one or two glasses an evening. Wine adds to my enjoyment of a meal. What I prefer depends on the meal and the season, but my favorite three grapes are Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

When I was a kid, several things at the table seemed similar to one another. Two of those things were wine and milk. My dad’s family was in the wine business, and my mom’s family were dairy farmers. To me, milk and wine were similar – both dry, not sweet, in flavor, both suitable to savory foods and both natural, delicious and healthy. My dad used to dip his Italian biscotti in a glass of dry, fruity Zinfandel. My mom’s dad used to put a tiny touch of dry red wine in – you guessed it – his milk. Today I drink loads of both. I love good food and especially natural, flavorful, food-friendly beverages.

Wine creates a harmony with my dishes and, each dish being different, it’s "necessary to continuously seek out new wines and new harmonies. So this often requires "tasting sessions" between food and wine. I’ve been drinking since the age of 15 and I drink between five and ten times a week. I drink for the pleasure of it – mostly at mealtimes as it accompanies the dishes that I taste. I prefer good wines from every country, as they are all very different and it doesn’t matter if the wine is well-known or not. I just like to satisfy my curiosity and taste and taste …

Wine is very much a part of my life. I’ve been drinking wine for 45 years, since I was 19\18, and now I drink basically every day and enjoy wines from all over the world – not one variety in particular. I don’t have wine with every meal but I almost always drink with dinner and often with lunch as well. I live both in Europe and the United States, so you can imagine the possibilities. I drink wine because it tastes good, primarily. It fascinates me and contributes to a warm and relaxing atmosphere when enjoyed with friends.

Ever since I started covering wine and food for CNN, I’ve been increasingly more interested in wine. It’s an intellectual hobby and a never-ending one. It’s nice to know that wine has potential benefits in terms of heart disease, but if people just drink wine for the health benefits, they’re missing the total picture. Families in Italy and France who originally kicked off this fascination with wine have, in general, healthier lifestyles – they walk after eating, eat fresher foods and more fruit and vegetables – so just adding wine to an American fast-food diet or sprinkling oat bran on top of a steak won’t do it. Wine is part of a healthy lifestyle and can fit into one, but just drinking wine can’t erase the effects of unhealthy lifestyle habits. I drink wine definitely on the weekends and have a glass or two twice a week with dinner.

In Italy, wine is very much a part of daily life. Like bread, wine is an integral part of meals, and it would be unthinkable to set a dinner table without it. I’ve been drinking wine since I was 18, and now I drink wine every day, but only with meals. A healthy attitude about wine is important. This means drinking wine in moderation, enjoying wine with meals and sharing the pleasure of good wine with family and friends.

Every day is an occasion to drink good wine. Wine, just like food, offers complex flavors and incredible aromas that stimulate the mind. I’ve been drinking wine ever since I was 14, and now I drink about five times a week. There is not enough time to drink bad wine, so I prefer the good ones.