But did you know that you can improve your wine's flavor by letting it remain in its original bottle and storing it in the coolest part of your home?
This was the finding of a recent study on the role of storage and packaging in the quality of a bottle red wine. In the study, wine bottles stored at room temperature improved the rate of aging and extended its shelf life is extended.
In the study, a team of researchers stored red wine in glass bottles and multilayer Tetrabriks for 12 months in two rooms: One was set at 20 C, and the other one was kept at 4 C at all times. The study revealed that after 12 months, red wine in glass bottles was protected from oxidation better than those kept in multilayered Tetrabriks. Moreover, those that were stored at 20 C were better preserved than those that were stored in colder temperatures.
This means that consumers can savor the original flavor of red wine more if it is kept in glass bottles.
A toast to health
Red wine, when taken in moderate amounts, can keep a person healthy. Some of its benefits include:
- Lowering your cholesterol. A study showed that people who took the grape supplement found in red wine saw a nine percent drop in their level of bad cholesterol.
- Protecting your heart. Dr. John Folts, professor of cardiovascular medicine and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said red wine helps keep blood vessels flexible and prevents unwanted blood clotting.
- Controlling blood sugar. A research in the journal Nutrition showed that red wine's natural compound resveratrol can help diabetics control blood sugar.
- Flexing your brain muscles. Resveratrol also flexes brain muscles and boosts memory, says Dr. Philippe Marambaud of New York's Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders. Resveratrol prevents beta-amyloid protein, a key element in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, from making its way into the body. (Related: Drink Red Wine and Keep Breasts, Livers and Brains Healthy.)
- Fighting off a cold. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that faculty members of a Spanish university who drank over 14 glasses of wine week lowered their chances of catching a cold by 40 percent.
- Halting cancer. Researchers at the University of Virginia said resveratrol in a glass of red wine taken three or four times a week may starve developing cancer cells.
- Making you slim. Red wine helps you keep a to-die-for figure since lab tests showed that resveratrol prevents fat cells from growing.
Must-tries
Because of its health benefits, it pays to learn about four kinds of red wine experts recommend that you try. These include:
- Pinot Noir. This has the lightest body and is colored very light red in the glass. Sniff it, and you'll smell cherries, raspberries, and cranberries.
- Syrah. This big, red inky wine has the taste of plums, blueberries, and a bit of chocolate and tobacco. It has a smooth, velvety texture.
- Cabernet Sauvignon. This kind of wine lets you savor the taste of tannins, antioxidants that give your mouth that rather dry feeling as you swallow it. It's the most popular red wine the world over and has the aroma of dark cherry, spice, and a little vanilla.
- Zinfandel. This has the highest alcohol content of them all because it is made up of the ripest fruit.
While red wine is great for health, you only enjoy its many benefits if you drink moderately. Drink too much, and you risk feeling the effects of aging faster – since it doesn't reduce oxidative stress anymore and even disturbs the repair cycle of cells.
The key, as always, is balance.
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