Red Wines for Health

Many of you are interested in drinking red wine for the health benefits.  Some of you that are just starting to explore red wines may feel that they just aren’t “sweet” enough, having been raised on coke, candy and chocolate as your 'normal sweetness level'.  So although red wines are known for their health benefits, they are also known for their tannic, non-sweet flavors.  Many new wine drinkers therefore seek a red wine that is as sweet as possible.

The tannic, leathery flavor of red wine comes from the red grape skins.  All grape "insides" are white in color.  The amount of time a wine sits on the skins during winemaking determines the color, and the level of tannins and sweetness.  So a red wine that uses the skins briefly during winemaking - like a white zinfandel - is going to be less tannic and sweeter.  It will also be light in color, since the color comes from the grape skins. A wine that sits on the skins for a long time during winemaking will end up darker in color, more tannic - and healthier because many of the health compounds in a wine come from its skin.

The goal then is to slowly train your tongue to get used to those more tannic flavors, so you can move from the pink colored wines to the darker colored wines.

First, the easiest wines for most new drinkers to handle are the white zinfandel and white merlot style. These are very sweet as far as red wines go, but to someone used to drinking sugary sodas they will seem "normal".  Think of this as someone taking coffee and dumping 5 creams and 5 sugars into it to get used to the taste of coffee.

Note again that these blush wines are only in contact with the grape skins for a short period of time. That's why they are light pink and not deep red. This also means they do not have many of the health benefits associated with red wine. Still, it's a way to get started.

You are training your tongue to tolerate tannins.  Tannins are the mouth-drying components found in tea bags. Once you are fine with drinking white zinfandel, you should try moving along to "actual" red wines that are as low in tannins as possible. These would be pinot noir, merlot, chianti or shiraz.

We recommend coming in and talking to our knowledgeable staff.  They can help you find some great wines at great price to try at all levels.  So try every wine you can, see what you like and don't like, and build your own list of favorites.   In the end, it is your palate we're talking about, and whatever you enjoy drinking, that's what is perfect for you!