Why do wine drinkers look smart? Because we are! A simple answer to a simple question. More and more people are becoming aware of the numerous health benefits of drinking wine, and especially red wine.

The Health Benefits

Wine is full of anti-oxidants, which help to protect your body. Those present in red wine are called flavonoids and have been touted as being protective of your cardiac health in multiple ways. They lower your bad cholesterol, help raise your good cholesterol and help to prevent blood clots. Studies have also shown a protective effect from cancer and a retardation of the growth of certain tumors with moderate red wine use. Many physicians recommend drinking red wine in moderation if you are an otherwise healthy person, in order to protect your heart health and reduce your cholesterol. That is a pretty smart suggestion.

In addition to heart health, many other health benefits have been attributed to a certain level of wine consumption. Cognitive health has been shown to be better in women in their seventies who moderately consume wine. Statistically speaking, moderate wine drinkers are leaner, have stronger bones and are less likely to become diabetic. As with anything, the key is moderation. Doctors suggest that women ideally drink no more than one glass of wine per day. Who knows what other smart results may come from drinking wine?

It Makes Us Better Cooks

Cooking with wine enhances food. Adding wine to a pan in which you have just cooked meat is a wonderful technique for deglazing - a gourmet way to prepare sauces. Adding red wine to tomato based sauces gives the flavor a richness that enhances it tremendously. White wine can also be added to a variety of dishes from salad dressings, to chicken dishes to seafood and pasta. The result is a complexity of taste that adds to any dish. Cooking with wine is just a smart thing to do.

The Language of Wine

The love of wine tends to manifest itself into a desire to want to learn more about our favorite beverage. Many people search out information about how to choose the best types of wine, how to match wine and food, what differentiates one type of wine from another. There are so many things to learn. There are techniques to learn to best appreciate the differences in wine. There is even a vocabulary to learn. You need to understand body, complexity, hints, swirling, tannins and so much more. To make matters even more difficult, you need to learn to properly pronounce the different types of wine, which means mastering a little French, Italian, German, Spanish and more. There are even courses you can take on wine appreciation. What other type of beverage can you think of that requires so much from drinkers before they are even considered to have a basic knowledge of what they are enjoying?

Wine is such a versatile drink that lends itself to enhancing our lives in tremendous ways. It enhances our food with flavor. It increases our chances of living a healthy life. It even gives us the opportunity to broaden our geographical, linguistic and chemical knowledge. No wonder wine makes us look smart!