The potential health benefits of red wine: Richard Esling, February 2

The study involved the records of nearly 474,000 people, comparing Covid infection with the consumption of alcohol over the period of the pandemic. While the results appeared to be good news for wine drinkers – particularly red wine – they were not so good for consumers of beer, cider and spirits.

To quote from the conclusion of the study: “The Covid-19 risk appears to vary across different alcoholic beverage subtypes, frequency, and amount. Red wine, white wine, and Champagne have chances to reduce the risk of Covid-19. Consumption of beer and cider and spirits and heavy drinking are not recommended during the epidemics.”

The benefits of red wine consumed in moderation have often been advertised through a number of studies in the past. Red wine has been shown to have benefits for everything from lowering bad cholesterol to protecting from heart disease, cancer and dementia, although as an ex-scientist, I would argue that few of these studies are absolute. The critical word is ‘could’! However, it is an interesting fact that until recently, in France, if you visited someone in hospital, the thing to take would be a bottle of red wine, rather than a somewhat less appealing bunch of grapes.

There are a number of different compounds found naturally in red wine, one group of which are the polyphenols. Resveratrol is a polyphenolic found in grape skins and thus in red wine, which has powerful antioxidant properties, accounting for many of the perceived benefits from red wine. Resveratrol has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour and immunomodulatory activities, thus possibly the reason for the protection from Covid-19 infection.

The study reported in Frontiers in Nutrition, although interesting, was purely a data-based study. “Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations of alcohol consumption with Covid-19 risk and associated mortality,” which roughly translated means a comparison of data. This is perhaps a valuable first attempt at studying protective factors for Covid-19. Many of the risk factors have been widely reported, such as age, obesity, race and lifestyle, but few studies have been made on protective factors.

The medical and health benefits of polyphenols, such as resveratrol found in grape skins, are however, widely documented in authenticated scientific studies. Antioxidants have been proved to reduce oxidative stress in the body, which has clear links with many diseases including cancers and heart disease. Perhaps the enhancement of the immune system is another of the many beneficial effects and undoubtedly further in-depth scientific research will follow in due course. Responsible drinking and moderation in all things is always a priority, but it may just be that a glass or two of red wine helps in more ways than one, to get us through the remainder of this invasive pandemic.

Richard Esling is a wine consultant, agent, writer and educator. He runs agency and consultancy WineWyse, is founder and principal of Sussex Wine Academy and is chairman of Arundel Wine Society