Although excessive alcohol consumption has adverse health effects, epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that moderate consumption of alcohol and wine is statistically associated with a decrease in cardiovascular illness such as heart failure. Additional news reports on the French paradox also back the relationship. This paradox concerns the comparatively low incidence of coronary heart disease in France despite relatively high levels of saturated fat in the traditional French diet. Some epidemiologists suspect that this difference is due to the higher consumption of wines by the French, but the scientific evidence for this theory is limited. Because the average moderate wine drinker is likely to exercise more often, to be more health conscious, and to be from a higher educational and socioeconomic background, the association between moderate wine drinking and better health may be related to confounding factors or represent a correlation rather than cause and effect.

Population studies have observed a J-curve association between wine consumption and the risk of heart disease: heavy drinkers have an elevated risk, while moderate drinkers (up to 20g of alcohol per day, approximately 200 ml (7 imp fl oz; 7 US fl oz) of 12.7% ABV wine) have a lower risk than non-drinkers. Studies have also found that moderate consumption of other alcoholic beverages may be cardioprotective, although the association is considerably stronger for wine. Additionally, some studies have found greater health benefits for red than white wine, though other studies have found no difference. Red wine contains more polyphenols than white wine, and these are thought to be particularly protective against cardiovascular disease.

vineyard

A chemical in red wine called resveratrol has been shown to have both cardioprotective and chemoprotective effects in animal studies. Low doses of resveratrol in the diet of middle-aged mice has a widespread influence on the genetic factors related to aging and may confer special protection on the heart. Specifically, low doses of resveratrol mimic the effects of caloric restriction—diets with 20–30% fewer calories than a typical diet. Resveratrol is produced naturally by grape skins in response to fungal infection, including exposure to yeast during fermentation. As white wine has minimal contact with grape skins during this process, it generally contains lower levels of the chemical. Beneficial compounds in wine also include other polyphenols, antioxidants, and flavonoids.

To benefit fully from resveratrol in wine, it is recommended to sip slowly when drinking. Due to inactivation in the gut and liver, most of the resveratrol consumed while drinking red wine does not reach the blood circulation. However, when sipping slowly, absorption via the mucous membranes in the mouth can result in up to 100 times the blood levels of resveratrol.

Source: Wikipedia

What better way to enjoy your wine than with a playlist of wine songs? That’s rhetorical, don’t answer. But it’s true, people love wine and people love songs, so listening to songs about wine while drinking wine is a no-brainer.

From the melancholy “Wine Colored Roses” — nobody does melancholy like George Jones — to the sweet nostalgia of Matraca Berg’s “Strawberry Wine,” here are some of our favorite celebrations of wine through song.

And if “Sangria Wine,” by Jerry Jeff Walker, doesn’t make you want to shake a leg, keep drinking.

Sometimes I write things that resonate familiar, though I know not from whence they were inspired. Experience? I hope not. Wine? Perhaps. Worry not about my style, henceforth I shall only write in thy mother’s English.

Milltowns by Mark Erelli

For his latest release, Milltowns, Mark Erelli covered several Bill Morrissey songs. The whole thing is worth checking out, but “These Cold Fingers” gets me, especially this last verse:

The dog can’t move no more
Surprised he made it till the spring
His pain won’t go away
And the pills don’t do a thing
You’ve known that old hound longer
Than you’ve known any of your friends
And no matter how you let him down
He’ll always take you back again
So it’s one tall glass of whiskey
One last drink for old times’ sake
The dog just lays in bed
And watches every move you make
Wrap him in his blanket
Hold him once more close to you
Lead him out behind the barn
With a borrowed .22

Mathew (Old Paint) Caldwell was born in Kentucky about 1798 and is said to have acquired the nickname because of white spots in his hair, beard and on his breast like a paint horse. According to Kemp in The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Caldwell is thought, like the Burkett, Zumwalts, Kents and DeWitts, to have come from Missouri. Baker in Texas Scrapbook says he came from Tennessee. Other records indicate that Caldwell and his family were part of the party who came to the colony as part of the Tennessee-Texas Land Company. Land records indicate that Caldwell arrived in the DeWitt Colony with a family of 5 on 20 Feb 1831. He received title to a sitio of land on 22 Jun 1831 southwest of current Hallettsville in Lavaca County near the Zumwalt Settlement. In Gonzales Caldwell acquired the original James Hinds residence on Water St. across from the Guadalupe River south of the Dickinson and Kimble Hat Factory. Dixon in The Men Who Made Texas states that Caldwell was born 8 Mar 1798, moved with his parents to Missouri in 1818, became a skilled Indian fighter in Missouri and was involved in trading with local Indians in the territory. Dixon further states he came to Texas from Missouri via Natchitoches by horseback in 1833 and first settled in current Sabine County where he was elected along with Stephen Blount and Martin Parmer to represent the area at the Independence Convention of 1836. Election returns in Gonzales County show Caldwell and John Fisher were elected delegates from that municipality for the convention. On 2 Mar, Caldwell along with William C. Crawford and William D. Lacy were appointed by the President to procure couriers to send expresses to the army “Believing it of vital importance that this convention know correctly the true situation of our enemy on the frontier, and also the condition of our army, they would recommend the convention to accept the services of Major Caldwell, who purposes to start this day to the frontier.”