"A glass a day keeps the doctor away" - Putting to bed some misconceptions about the health effects of wine

Two sources of inspiration for this post. First, not being a particularly good creative writer myself, my objective with my blog posts is not to entertain, but to inform (while doing some cool research myself). Second, after reading Amanda's illuminating research on sulfites, I was generally curious about the health benefits of drinking wine, and hopefully put to bed some popular misconceptions that I've had. Three of which are as follows:

1. Drinking wine is fine, as long as it's in moderation - TRUE - According to the US Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020, drinking in moderation is defined as one drink per day for women, and two drinks per day for men. What is a "drink" in wine speak? The guidelines define it as 5 fluid ounces, which is just about half of our Gabriel-Glas wine glasses. Note: The guidelines do not specify whether you can carry over your 1-2 drink pass on days that you don't drink. Suffice it to say - not drinking all week and downing 14 glasses of wine at FOAM is likely not drinking in moderation.  
2. White wine has less calories than red wine - FALSE -  Calories in wine is most directly influenced by its ABV (Alcohol by Volume) percentage. A higher ABV by 1 percentage point equates to ~12 more calories per glass. The average glass of wine has about 9-12% ABV, equating roughly to 110-140 calories. While white wine on average has a lower ABV than red wine, there are still high ABV, high sugar white wines that pack in more calories than even some of the heaviest red wines (e.g., US Moscato - 177 to 213 calories per glass)
3. Red wine is good for the heart, prevents cancer, and prevents vision loss - KIND OF TRUE, BUT - Ok, yes, red wine has a compound call resveratrol, which has been proven to prevent bacteria and funghi, and protect against UV radiation. However, this health benefit comes from the skins of red grapes. Therefore, anybody can load up on the benefits of resveratrol by simply eating more grapes, blueberries, cranberries, and even peanuts - not more red wine. That said, if you had to choose amongst alcoholic drinks, red wine might be the best option. 

My takeaway from these findings - yes, there are proven health benefits associated with wine, we've all come across an article or two. But it's important to remember that wine is an alcoholic drink at the end of the day and it is no substitute for a well-balanced, nutritious diet. However, given the choice between your cocktail, wine, or beer ticket at next week's FOAM - there is a clear right answer. Cheers to that!

Sources

https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-9/
https://www.shape.com/blogs/fit-foodies/best-wines-your-waistline
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635.php