the wine diet: a book review

Here's a review I wrote early last year for organic matters, about a book I'd just completed at the time. The book was called the Wine Diet, and it has recently been reprinted, this time called the Red Wine Diet. Which is fair enough, as Corder has nothing particularly positive to say about white wine. The book also ties in with the fighting foods article I posted here recently.

I have to say that I'm happy with the style of the article below - I'm glad it reads as it does. This isn't always the case for me, so enjoy.

I got The Wine Diet by Roger Corder as what could be called a reluctant Christmas present. Anyone who already enjoys his fair share of beaded bubbles winking at the brim doesn�t necessarily need help convincing himself to further integrate wine into his life. So the present-giver was hesitant, but I�m glad she gave it. And the sauce-consumption hasn�t skyrocketed since then either.

Part of her trepidation may have come from the by-line on the front cover of the book: �Drink red wine every day; Eat fruit and berries, nuts and chocolate; Enjoy a longer, healthier life�. Wow. Bold claims indeed, in both senses of the word. No, this wasn�t written by a spin doctor for some global wine brand, quite the opposite in fact. Rodger Corder is a very level-headed Professor of Experimental Therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute in London. And most if not all of the big global wine brands come out badly from the book, as will be seen later.

The types of wine Corder advocates in his own version of moderation � one glass at lunch, one or two with your evening meal, every day � are wines high in a particular type of natural plant chemical, or polyphenol. Specifically, the holy grail of polyphenols is called procyanidin. This is the most abundant polyphenol in young red wines, and according to Corder�s extensive research, it is a key to keeping our blood vessels from clogging up and thus to keeping ourselves healthy.

But not all red wines have them. While he provides some handy examples in the book, it�s possible to guesstimate on the basis that traditionally-made, regional wines on small family vineyards are probably well on the way to healthy. With this in mind, consider the following specific traits: Fermentation where the seeds and skins stay in contact with the fruit for a long time; particular regional grape varietals with plenty of seeds in the first place; vineyards at reasonably high altitudes; low yields; well established vines that don�t need or get too much irrigation; tough soil conditions; long, slow ripening; natural settling in the bottle, rather than excessive fining or especially filteration; aging in oak rather than steel barrels � all these characteristics can help the procyanidin levels in a wine stay high.

These wines can be considered socio-culturally and environmentally embedded rather than anonymous and globalised, as some many of our available wines are today. Why? Because Corder takes his cue from the lifestyles, including the wine-drinking habits, of people in various mountainous rural parts of Europe. In general, there has been a French Paradox, whereby the French who drink plenty of wine seem to live longer than they should because of their lifestyle and diet. However, hilly parts of the islands of Sardinia, Crete and the south-west of France have populations that live Europe�s longest and healthiest lives. What�s more, there are dietary anomalies along with a deficit in anything approaching a modern health care infrastructure in these remote places.

While these peoples do consume a typically good Mediterranean diet, and have a lot of outdoor work and indeed hill walking integrated into their daily routines, they also consume too much saturated fat, and many of them smoke a lot. Along with this, they often don�t have nearby hospitals or easy access to GPs. Crucially, from Corder�s perspective, they are old without medical interventions. Few of the many centurions in Sardinia have had a heart bypass. Who knows what age these people would actually get to if they had their local red wines, slightly tweaked versions of their current lifestyles and the full gamut of modern medicine at their disposal? For Corder, the missing link, the answer to that French (longevity) Paradox that�s been knocking around for decades now, is the type of wine these people drink.

None of the big boys of the wine world do well from this book. As he says himself, �I�m very sorry to tell you that the big brands that have led to the huge expansion of Australian wine exports are, on the whole, low in procyanidins�. In fact, having read the book, it�s possible to extract a rule of thumb for red wine - if a particular wine is advertised on TV it�s almost certainly of little or no health benefit to you at all.

Corder has written a health and diet book, not a wine book. Importantly, diet here refers to a way to eat, not a way to avoid food. Essentially Corder thinks that procyanidins are vital, and some red wines just happen to have them. Hence the byline quoted earlier that refers to dark chocolate, berries, nuts and fruits. Many of these foods have this healthful thing too. Again, however, Corder is clear � processed versions of these are of little use either. To get any health benefit from chocolate, make sure it is as pure and high in coca solids as possible. Likewise, pure apple juice should be naturally cloudy. In fact, more than just wine, Corder provides a nutrition and lifestyle plan, including two weeks of recipes. And it�s simple � like the food we should be eating.

In celtic tiger Ireland, we have wines of the world at our disposal. We have more choice than consumers in most parts of the wine producing regions in Europe do. But we don�t have easy access to many potentially healthful regional varietials - grapes like the uber-healthy Tannat are deemed too quirky, idiosyncratic, old worldy, perhaps even farmyardy for the sophisticated Celt. The irony is on us � our retarded palate may be clogging up our arteries.

And what about our culture? What would our friends, loved ones and colleagues think if we suddenly started drinking a glass of red wine at lunch every day, and two more every evening? And what about ourselves? Would we have the discipline to stop at about three spaced-out glasses every day? Or would we start looking to the Sardinians with their four to seven glasses as the sauce kicked in? Would we even realise that they use 125 ml glasses, not 175mls, after glass three? As he says himself, moderation is the key - for Corder, moderation is regular but small doses.

So approach this book as if it has a health warning attached. Which of course it does.