To Your Health
Wine is the drink of the gods, Milk the drink of babes, Tea the drink of women, and Water the drink of beasts
- John Stuart Blackie, Scottish essayist
Of all the many inventions that made our civilization possible, few are as consequential as the discovery of fermentation: the process of turning starches into alcohol. To underline its importance- and universality- it is probably the only other innovation, beside walking upright and discovering fire, that developed independently amongst all known cultures. Even the wheel, to say nothing of irrigation, agriculture or the septic tank, momentous though they each were, did not permeate the entire known world until the modern era.
The universality of wine- or drink- is illustrated by the many myths from across the world which celebrate its advent, from Soma, the Hindu god of poetry, inspiration, the afterlife and ecstasy to Dionysian cults of Ancient Greece, honoring the ribald god of grapes, wine and ritual madness. Even staid ancient societies not given to abandon and bacchanalia have representative deities of wine and excess, such as Yi-Ti, the Chinese god of rice wine; the Aztec god of fertility and drunken stupor, Tezcatzontecati; Mbaba Mwana Waresa, Zulu god of rainbows, fertility and beer; Ogun, the fearsome god of the Yoruba, whose mischief has been adopted across three continents as the patron saint of rampant libido and alcohol-fueled excess; and, of course, Agwu, the itinerant Igbo god of madness and reprieve.
The innate contradictions of drink, as a reliable vehicle for social cohesion as well as a potent force for mindless destruction, is perhaps best epitomized by the duality of the Greek god Dionysius himself. Born of a god (Zeus, the All-Father, himself) and a mortal (the fetching Semele, consort of the gods), his classical depiction was androgynous, his followers were chaste maidens, and though often welcomed with flowers and figs, typically left behind a trail of destruction and ennui. He was the god of both stupor and epiphany.
Wine itself was first cultivated by the Hittites in present-day South-East Turkey around 6500 BC. At first, its use was probably restricted to devotional or quasi-religious rites amongst the rich and well-connected, until Phoenician seamen undertook to spread its bounty across the Mediterranean. It soon became obvious that it had other uses beyond culinary enjoyment, rapidly being deployed for ritual, celebration, cosmesis, therapeutics, hygiene, and of course, debauchery. In those days, clean water was at a premium, so it became common. practice to sanitize water by mixing it with wine. As students of the New Testament will recall, the first miracle of Christ was the conversion of water into wine, a feat that was apparently encored (and improved upon) by St Brigid of Ireland (where else?) who reputedly turned dirt water in her leprosarium into beer, of all things!
From time immemorial, Man has been heavily invested in the healing properties of wine. Indeed, the gods of Mount Olympus were reputed to live off a rather monotonous diet of nectar and ambrosia, the latter which was probably a honeyed alcoholic extract borne on the wings of doves, apparently granted rejuvenation and immortality to the gods. Hera, the All-Mother, was known to ritually immerse herself in tubs of ambrosia as therapy for defilement and perjury, which was her forte given the adulterous regime in highest Olympus. It has also been suggested, with more imagination than proof, that the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden was probably a fermented grape! Perhaps.
Unlike the pantheon of Mount Olympus, modern man has only concerned himself with the basics of wine: which wine goes with what? Generally, we have two colors of wine, Red and White, reflecting the skin color of grapes, not the grape juice itself which is colorless. Red wines include Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Blush wine amongst others, best served with red meat such as beef, venison, duck, lamb, sausage and veal. White wine on the other hand, such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling is best accompanied with chicken, seafood, pork, turkey and Chinese fries. However, these rules should be regarded as mere recommendations: your own palate is your best guide!
With some science, we have a better appreciation of the true merits of wine. It appears that most of its medicinal benefits accrue to a polyphenolic anti-oxidant known as Resveratrol, which is actually more abundant in grapes and berries than in wine. Resveratrol is also thought to help prevent clots in blood vessels, regulate blood sugar levels by improving the body's responsiveness (sensitivity) to insulin, ward of dementia by slowing down the deposition of beta-amyloid protein in the brain which is widely believed to be the harbinger of senile-onset dementia, and may help protect against common infections and a few cancers. There are some poorly defined Aromatase Inhibitors in wine too, which may help reduce the risk of breast cancer in the most vulnerable. High-fiber grapes could have an added heart benefit by reducing "bad" LDL-cholesterol, which is liable to clog up your arteries. finally, there is piceatannol, which is a bye-product of Resveratrol , shown to block a virus-derived enzyme which mediates some of the horrible effects of Ebstein-Barr virus such as cancer. As an added bonus, piceatannol also appears to alter the way certain genes act in the body, thereby stopping the growth of fat cells which results in weight loss or stabilization.
As with most things, despite the advertised benefits of wine, moderation is of the utmost importance. A drink or less each day is enough for the ladies (and No, being French is not an acceptable excuse ), and no more than two drinks daily is healthy in adult males (Irish or not, regardless of it is really St Patrick's Day). For those who might want to push the boundaries, I should gently remind the reader that a drink is: 12 ounces (355 mL) of beer or 5 ounces (148 mL) of wine or 1.5 ounces (44 mL) of spirits. Overdoing it surely risks unwanted stomach, heart and liver disease.
