Wine And Its Mysteries The Benefits And Side Effects

Do you know what is in your wine?

A glass of red or white wine image PhotoMix

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water”- Galileo is credited with this quote. Now one should not forget that Galileo was born on February 15 of the year 1564 in Pisa-Italy. One of the wine country’s par excellence. He died January 8, 1642, at the age of 78 years and that was ancient for those times. I bet the drinking of wine must have helped him to remain healthy.

Galileo was an Italian astronomer and the discoverer of Ganymede, Europa, Callisto, Io, and the Rings of Saturn. He is famous for many other things, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about wine.

In those times, one did not talk about GMOs and neither did one worry about pesticides. The wine you were drinking then was just fermented grape juice. The major problem in those times was when a tavern owner starting mixing water with the wine and you would not notice it anymore.

A little about wine in history

Wine has been present in history for a very long time. Many countries worldwide show evidence of wine drinking. We know wine to have been consumed in the country of Georgia around 6000 BC.

In 5000 BC people in Iran were drinking, and in Sicily, there is evidence of wine consumption from 4000 BC onward. It seems that the first recognized wine production facility was started in Armenia and it is thought to be at least 6100 years old.

Shopping for wine image holzijue

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A book on wine brewing

There is proof in 7000 BC that people in China were enjoying a drink which was based on the fermented grape. The first Chinese monograph on the technology of yeast production and wine brewing was an important work written by Zhu Hong, who lived from 1050 to 1125. He served as court gentleman consultant and at the Imperial Archives.

Bacchus, the wine god

You will probably have heard of the god Dionysus, also known as Bacchus. He is the god of the grape harvest and winemaking and a couple of more things but the connection with wine is the most important.

Wine played an important role in Greek and Roman culture and the grapes were seen as a gift of this god and represented, in a symbolic way, his incarnation in this world.

Bacchus has been often depicted and a famous painting is one of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio who lived from 1571 to 1610. Caravaggio was an Italian Baroque master and his painting is world known.

You see Bachus painted as a young man loosely covered in a draped robe. On his head, he wears grape and vine leaves. Many famous painters have depicted Bacchus as the 17th-century Spanish painter Diego Velazquez.

The triumph of Bacchus by Diego Velazquez image janeb13

Living in wine-producing countries

I have lived for more than half of my life in wine countries. In France, 5 years in Italy and since 1975 in different places in Spain. I have always loved red wine and most evenings I take a glass of this healthy elixir.

Wine is cheap in Spain, so for normal house wine, you get something quite decent for around 3 Euros. If you know a little about Spanish wines, you can buy a Gran Reserva for 5 to 6 Euros and they are superb.

In this short video of just over 7 minutes you will find a lot of information on all the things you could find tasting wine.

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Women should drink red wine in moderation

Women benefit from drinking a small amount of red wine, as it could reduce various cancers, reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and seems to have a reducing effect on dementia and depression. I myself know from experience, having a good evening meal, I can drink 2 glasses of good red wine.

I should not drink the third one as then my positive mood turns into being over sensitive and sad. So, have your glass of red wine a day, as it provides antioxidants and you might live longer as it protects against heart disease and inflammation. It shows drinking wine has a lot of benefits and is to be preferred above other alcohol or soft drinks.

Vineyard image Gerd Altmann

70 Additives and chemicals

I really thought that I was living a good life, and that everything was OK until I came across an email from Dr. Tom O’Brien which included some nasty news. I have already written posts on chemicals and the places where you will encounter them. They can be in your drinking water, in your food and even in the diapers of babies.

If that were not enough, I now find that there can be up to 70 additives and chemicals in your wine. It seems that winemakers are allowed to introduce additives to wine, as it forms part of the mass production process. And there is no law yet, which obliges them to declare it on the label.

Just imagine, when you are drinking your daily glass of wine, thinking you are doing something good for your health and enjoying the taste, it now turns out it is a health hazard. Unbelievable.

People may complain they cannot handle drinking wine anymore and thinking it is probably because of getting older. Well, that is not the case, it is due to all these undeclared substances which are mixed in your wine.

Wine has been known for at least 9000 years and has its roots in history and culture. In the old days, people would get drunk because of drinking too much, but they would not poison themselves. Sadly nowadays, a violation of the grape juice has come about. Once more they have tampered with a product that was perfect as it was.

There are more things which have been tampered with and a good example is extra virgin olive oil. Such a shame one cannot lift one’s glass anymore and drink to somebody’s health. Investigate carefully before you buy your bottle of wine.

Grapes hanging on the vine image Willi Stegel

Normal grapes versus organic grapes

A study has found that European wines are contaminated with pesticides. No pesticides are ever added to organic wine grapes. Still, there are many things in your wine which were not there years ago.

Spain has gone through its own fall and rise in wine history and nowadays its wines are known worldwide. From being invisible, it has now grown to be in third place in production. The country has 2.9 million acres (over 1.17 million hectares) of planted grapevines. First, come Italy and France, and behind Spain come the United States and China.
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Conclusion

What can one do? The answer is difficult. You might have to try many different wines in case you do not feel well. Often our body sends an alert if what we eat or drink is not good for us. Listen to those signals, they are not to be taken lightly.

Your wine should not be too cheap as it will be mass-produced and too many unnatural things added to it. It is sad that once again men have to meddle with nature. I do hope you will be able to find the wine that suits your taste, pocketbook, and health.

I have made a special page for you with a collection of things you might find interesting. Before you leave, have a look at Recommendations.

Source: Dr. Tom O’Bryan and the World Digital Library.org

Photo Source: Pixabay

Not everybody likes to drink wine or other alcoholic beverages. Here I have something which is very good for your health, have a look.

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