Pinot Noire

[ebill]

I have read, heard, or saw that of all the most available red wines Pinot Noire is the most beneficial for heart patients or individuals concerned about the health of their hearts. Seems that there are ingredients in the P-N that are not present in any other red wine.
Can anyone confirm that claim and or explain
further?? Thanx, ebill

[vinumveritas]

Not so, I'm afraid.
What Pinot Noir is good for is as an "introductory" red -- in that, if you are not a wine drinker or at least not a red wine drinker, Pinot Noir is not a "big tannic bruiser" but tends to be lighter in color among reds and quite refined, not aggressive... therefore easier to like. Other light reds include Beaujolais, Sangiovese, Dolcetto or Barbera, for example.

[Thomas]

What ebill may be referring to is resveratrol.

Resveratrol is a chemical isolated at Cornell University as potentially beneficial to prevent both heart and cancer disease.

It is a natural chemical produced by grapes (in their skins) to fight disease in the vineyard. It is found moreso in red wine because of fermentation on the skins, and warm fermentation seems to draw out the chemical better.

Since Pinot Noir is awfully disease-prone in the vineyard, levesl of resveratrol seem to be highest in wines produced from that grape.

[Winent]

I have also read in a couple of places that Pinot Noir is highest in this proposed beneficial compound - plus it tastes great.

I think it is important to remember that, while the evidence linking moderate alcohol consumption to quantitative health benefits is extremely compelling, the etiology of this effect is still very much unknown.

[vinumveritas]

so, going back to your original question, what we are telling you is that no, PN does not contain any beneficial ingredient that cannot be found in other reds (prob. refering to resveratrol as Foodie says) -- but may contain slightly more of it!

[Bucko]

I have to disagree that the etiology of alcohol's beneficial effects are unknown. Without going into a long diatribe, alcohol raises the HDL component of cholesterol, resveratrol helps to prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol (which activates it), alcohol decreases platelet aggregation and may decrease vascular contractility.

I also ran a medline search and cannot find any data stating that Pinot has more resveratrol -- where did that come from?

Bucko

[Winent]

Didn't mean to imply that potential benefits of alcohol consumption have not been demonstrated (as Bucko pointed out). It is also apparent to me that Bucko and Foodie are WAY more well read on this topic than I am.

Unlike some of the past health fads (remember oat bran?), the literature over the past few years shows a really consistent benefit to moderate alcohol consumption. I just think there is much more to learn about exactly why this is.

[Thomas]

Bucko, a fellow by the name Creasy, at Cornell University, has done resveratrol studies on various wines. The Pinot Noir information comes from him.

If I knew their Web site or his email address I would give it to you, but I am sure you can find Cornell on a search engine.

[Bucko]

Thanks, I'll check it out.