New studies show benefits of moderate drinking
First up, two positive reports, in the last three days, on the benefits of moderate drinking. Happy holidays!
On 17 December the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) in the US released a report on the relationship between alcohol consumption and eight health outcomes including all-cause mortality, weight, cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurocognition. The report was commissioned by US Congress in 2023 to assess third-party research to inform the 2025–2030 US Dietary Guidelines.
Before I delve into outcomes, I want to clarify a couple things. This report eliminated any studies that used a comparison group which combined people who have never been drinkers with people who do not currently drink but have in the past. They did this to avoid ‘abstainer bias’ – caused by past drinkers abstaining because they’ve had health problems – which would lead to the ‘abstainer’ group looking less healthy. The report also eliminated any study older than 2010. The report classifies ‘moderate alcohol intake’ to mean two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women. Finally, the committee reviewing the studies indicates either a low or moderate level of certainty in their findings. NASEM’s summary reads, ‘None of the report’s conclusions reached a high level of certainty, which is unlikely without a randomized controlled trial to include in the systematic review. For some health outcomes, the committee determined no conclusion could be drawn.’
So, what were the findings?
With regard to all-cause mortality – meaning the total number of deaths in a population due to any cause – the report concludes with moderate certainty ‘that compared with never consuming alcohol, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower all-cause mortality.’
With regard to cancer the report concludes with moderate certainty that moderate alcohol consumption increases women’s risk of breast cancer. Moderate consumption versus low consumption was also shown, with low certainty, to increase risk of colon cancer; however, when comparing moderate consumption with lifelong abstinence no conclusion could be made. The committee was also unable to find associations between moderate alcohol consumption and oral cavity, pharyngeal, oesophageal or laryngeal cancers.
With regard to cardiovascular disease the report concluded with moderate certainty that the risk of cardiovascular mortality in both men and women was lowered in moderate drinkers compared with lifelong abstainers.
Finally, with regard to weight change and to neurocognition no conclusions could be drawn.
This is all decent news – though women who like their nightly glass of wine should not be skipping any recommended breast exams!
The next study, published by the European Heart Journal on 18 December, starts with the premise that moderate wine consumption is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease in older populations but studies that rely on participants self-reporting how much they drink are prone to measurement error. To mitigate this, the study takes 1,232 people who are participating in a study on effects of a Mediterranean diet, asks them how much wine they consume, and then takes urine samples to measure for tartaric acid – the main acid in grapes. Participants then are followed for 4–5 years. Light-to-moderate wine consumption, which in this study is defined as half to one glass of wine per day, is shown to reduce the risk of a cardiovascular event by 50%.
It is important to note that all of the people involved were following a Mediterranean diet, living in a Mediterranean country, and that the mean age was 68 years.
A press release from the European Society for Cardiology quotes lead researcher Professor Ramon Estruch saying, ‘By measuring tartaric acid in the urine, alongside food and drink questionnaires, we have been able to make a more accurate measurement of wine consumption. We have found a much greater protective effect of wine than that observed in other studies. A reduction in risk of 50% is much higher than can be achieved with some drugs, such as statins.’
Alto Adige adopts UGA classifications
On 19 December the Consorzio Alto Adige Wines announced that, starting with the 2024 vintage, they would be recognising 86 unità geografiche aggiuntive, or UGAs. In essence a UGA is a legally recognised area (not a subzone – those have different requirements) within a DOC or DOCG. A few examples of existing UGAs would be Asili in Barbaresco, Cannubi in Barolo, or Gaiole in Chianti Classico.
To determine the boundaries of the UGAs in Alto Adige the Consorzio used soil type, climate, elevation, slope inclination, sun exposure, rainfall and historical importance. Each UGA also has specifications as to what grapes may be used, and allowed yields are 25% lower than the requirements for the larger DOC.
Kokumi boosts flavour in sparkling wines
I had never heard of kokumi until this week but apparently it is a Japanese word for ‘rich taste’ and sits alongside sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Rather than being a flavour itself, it indicates a sensation of textural richness and fullness that enhances other flavours. Research in the last few years had focused on its presence in cheese, yeast extracts, beans, garlic, onions, beer and now wine.
On 14 November the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published a study on sparkling wines from Trento DOC in Italy. The study, which appeared on the website of the American Chemical Society on 12 December, analysed Trentodoc wines across five vintages and found 50 oligopeptides – a class of proteins – that could be responsible for a kokumi effect in the wines. The research team narrowed this to 11 and finally pinpointed Gly-Val – a dipeptide formed from the amino acids glycine and valine – as the most likely kokumi compound through using tasting experts to prove that the compound enhanced flavours in wine.
It would be interesting to see if this research would hold when applied to other traditional-method sparkling wines such as champagne, if the type of yeast used for primary or secondary fermentation matters, or if Gly-Val is present in tank-method wines such as Prosecco.
Gérard Basset Foundation announces grantees
On 9 December the Gérard Basset Foundation – a charitable foundation focused on providing funding for education and professional development for people in the drinks trade – annunced grants to six organisations which facilitate education and mentorship: Eno Cultura in Brazil, the Institute of Cape Wine Masters in South Africa, Drinklusive in the UK, and the Glancy Wine Education Foundation, Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation in the US. Thank you to GBF and to all of the grantees for supporting our industry! And a personal thank you to the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation who have helped me fund my education with the Institute of Masters of Wine.
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. Next week is Christmas so I won’t see you again until 3 January! If you enjoy this newscast and you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a wine-lover in your life, please consider gifting a subscription to JancisRobinson.com! And if you have breaking news in your area, please email [email protected].
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Photo at top of Sudtirol vineyards ©Sudtirol Wein Benjamin Pfitscher
