The Weekend Pour: Wine & Health🍷
Every Friday, bringing you a book, podcast, and article that I'm reading or listening to with a drink in hand.
Welcome to the Weekend Pour, where each week I’ll bring you the books, podcasts, and articles that I’m reading and listening to with a drink in hand.
This week, the drink in my hand is an old friend: wine. As a trained sommelier and wine enthusiast, I’ve spent a great deal of time around the fermented grape. I’ve traveled to vineyards around the world and sipped from some of the finest bottles. Yes, I’m bragging. But you can, too—even if you don’t drink alcohol. There’s a no- and low-alcohol wine renaissance happening right now, with plenty of fantastic options to explore. Below is just one of my favorites.
Why then wine and health? For a long time, wine basked in a health-lined halo, and next week I’ll dive deeper into that topic. But for now, there’s a lot of buzz—see what I did there?—about wine’s health effects. It’s important to be informed about all the dimensions of wine, from its cultural significance to its cardiovascular impact. As such, I’ll share some reading and listening material from my own research.
The Drink: Oceano Pinot Noir “Spanish Springs Vineyard,” San Luis Obispo Coast, CA 2023
Not only is wine an old friend of mine, so is Rachel Martin of Oceano Vineyards. We’ve been friends for over a decade, in both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine worlds. She’s crafted excellent wines on both sides of the spectrum, too.
Her recent pinot noir is one to watch. I’ve often discussed the growing category of delicious red wines—like Zeronimo’s 98-point de-alcoholized “Leonis Blend”—but I rarely focus on specific grapes. That’s because, until recently, we were just lucky to get a good red wine, let alone a quality pinot noir. However, this wine marks a turning point. Non-alcoholic wines are improving rapidly, and Oceano is now a leader in the pack.
Oceano’s 2023 pinot noir is delicious with complex layers of aromas and flavors. Expect notes of plum, wild strawberry, nutmeg, and rosemary. I’d pair it with grilled salmon or light stews, such as chicken and rice. It’s not cheap, sure, but it’s a bottle you can bring to dinner parties or gatherings without feeling like you’re bringing a novelty wine. This is a real wine with real pedigree that everyone can enjoy.
Get a bottle of Oceano Zero Pinot Noir (or Chardonnay) from my friends at The Zero Proof for 15% off with this promo code: POSITIVEDAMAGE15.
The Article: Low-Alcohol and Nonalcoholic Wines: From Production to Cardiovascular Health, along with Their Economic Effects (Beverages, June 25, 2024)
Not all studies, summaries, and science are as easily digestible as a good non-alcoholic wine—according to the very unscientific sample size of one: myself. However, this article from Beverages does a better job than most. I especially love the somewhat absurd but informative AI cartoons they included (see above).
The article delves into production techniques for no- and low-alcohol wines, consumer interest, and their economic potential. What caught my attention most was the discussion on wine and health. Especially how no- and low-alcohol wines offer cardiovascular benefits similar to their alcoholic counterparts, though more research is needed to confirm this. Interestingly, resveratrol—the antioxidant often highlighted in alcoholic wines—is found in even larger quantities in non-alcoholic versions.
This positions no- and low-alcohol wines as not only improving in quality and profitability but also as a potential boon for heart health without the risks of alcohol.
The Podcast: The VinePair Podcast: Wine Isn’t Healthy. That’s OK.
In this episode of The VinePair Podcast, we’re treated to the usual barroom banter (aka lots of expletives) of hosts Adam Teeter, Joanna Sciarrino, and Zach Geballe while they discuss the persistent myth that wine is healthy and whether that’s even necessary to encourage its consumption. Their general consensus: it’s fucking not.
They discuss the wine world’s very vocal distress about forthcoming dietary guidelines in 2025 that may further reduce the recommended guideline for alcohol consumption to 2 drinks per week. While the guidelines may in fact change, they add that not many people believed alcohol is healthy for you anyway. Despite the halo that wine enjoyed from the 1991 60 Minutes episode, The French Paradox, “no more than 25% of U.S. adults have ever seen drinking as good for one’s health” according to Gallup News.
For them, there’s an importance to acknowledge the more commonplace reasons people drink such as relaxation and taste and highlight the importance of viewing wine as a pleasurable experience rather than as a health beverage.
The Book: Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture by Patrick E. McGovern
To return to the topic of friends, I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with Patrick McGovern at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and on a trip to Mexico searching for the origins of agave spirits (along with a bar here and there). He’s an incredible scholar and endlessly curious person. He also happens to be one of the foremost researchers on wine and antiquity and has helped make some pretty delicious ancient ales.
Ancient Wine by McGovern explores the origins of winemaking, tracing its roots back to the Neolithic period and earlier. Combining archaeology, chemistry, and historical analysis, McGovern investigates ancient civilizations and their relationship with wine, using artifacts, DNA analysis, and writings to uncover how and where viniculture developed.
The book delves into wine's cultural and religious significance, showing how it shaped ancient societies, including those in the Near East, Europe, and beyond. McGovern highlights groundbreaking discoveries in archaeology that revolutionize our understanding of ancient wine production. All in all, a must read for anymore interested in ancient history, food and wine.
Have a great weekend!
Don’t forget to add what you’ve been drinking, reading, and listening to below.
Thank you to Oar Health for your important work and sponsorship of Positive Damage! Learn more about how Oar Health can help you drink less or quit here.
Thumbs up for Geisen. It's my drink of choice every night with dinner. Haven't tried the bubbly, but I certainly will. Thanks, as always, Susan
On another note, is there a host hotel for the January convention?