The Grape Harvest in France Benefits More Than Just Your Palate

Originally set up as a marketing ploy by some of the larger supermarket chains in France with the idea of diversifying the wines being sold, each supermarket or seller will host their own 'Foire aux Vins' in order to have certain types wines on special offer. Most of these will take place throughout September so make sure you take advantage of the reduced prices of some wines that you may not normally try (don't just head straight for the cab sav!) or think about due to budget constraints (I normally scan the shelves for anything under a fiver...). 

And there is no need to feel embarrassed that you don't know you Burgundy from your Bordeaux, as a recent survey has revealed that 7 out of 10 French people in fact know nothing about their national drink. An astonishing 85% of the age group 18-25 years old, said that they knew nothing about their wines, which has spurred on a campaign for young people to taught about wine from the age of 17...after all wine has been included in France's "gastronomic heritage"!

Another point to consider when heading to the supermarket for your wine-buying spree are the health benefits of having a regular wine consumption. Hooray!!

We have heard much of this in the past and it will be re-iterated once again as the European Society of Cardiology has convened for their annual congress in Barcelona and have once again unveiled some promising heart-disease research. 

Lead researcher Miloš Táborský, head of cardiology at a University Hospital in the Czech Republic, revealed the study's results, saying, “We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised. Red and white wine produced the same results.” The basis for the study was that for one year, subjects drank “moderate” amounts of wine five days per week. The amounts were obviously calculated but basically a moderate amount is one glass for women and two glasses for men. Half of the 146 subjects drank red wine, and half drank a white. They also logged any and all alcohol consumption in a diary, where they also had to keep track of their food intake and physical activity.

The results were that a combination of moderate wine drinking plus regular exercise can significantly improve cholesterol levels and thus suggesting that it is a protective method that can be used against cardiovascular disease. This result was regardless of the colour of wine - red or white!

So looking at these facts, we all need to get our running shoes on, do a few laps round the block and hot-foot it down to the local supermarket so that we can start drinking some of those fantastic French wines, and enjoy the fruits of the 2014 Grape Harvest!