Anyone else on here a wino? I'm a big red wine fan, not only is it the best tasting drink but it's actually bloody good for you!

I've just found a few gems thanks to Tesco's half price wine offer as otherwise I would have never tried these. Do yourself a favour and get down there this week and pick yourself at least a bottle of each of these:

Les Collines Du Paradis 2006 - A blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carigan & Mourvedre. 13.5% -
RRP £13 - Tesco £6.50

Vina Albali Barrel Aged 2005 Temperanillo Cabernet. 13.5% -
RRP £6 - Tesco £3.00!!!

Both are absolute steals and I will continue to buy both at full price but right now it would be an offence not to at least try. These are so good I think they'd turn even the most hardened non-red driker over to the 'dark' side

They also have the very easy going, suitable for all times, high in resveratol Hardys Merlot in at a stunning £3.50 a bottle.

Well there's my tips of the week, anyone else got some stunners they want to share??

I can never remember what bottle I've drunk

I like white wine better but ill give one of those this weekend when doing the shopping.

which would you reccomend for a non red wine drinker?

Rab wrote:I like white wine better but ill give one of those this weekend when doing the shopping.

which would you reccomend for a non red wine drinker?

Erm.....white?

I see sarcasm develops well with age!

Sainsbury's Organic Chilean Merlot is lovely.

Wines grown from grapes in cold humid climates (like Cabernet Sauvignon, or wines from Bordeaux and Canada) have higher concentrations of reservatrol than those which come from hot dry areas. Pinot Noir has the highest concentration of reservatrol, regardless of the climate in which the grapes were grown.

And reservatrol is one of the best chemicals to get more of in our diet. An amazing chemical in fact.

when is the best time to consume reservatrol?

I like to have a handfull or two of red grapes after training for the 10-15g of carbs and the vits etc.

bit of a new world fiend myself

ever since i went in search of great whites(sharks not wines) at gaansbai, been a massive fan of south african wines, really like the spicy smokey pinotage grape. The quality of wines you can get there for absolutelyn peanuts is amazing- for instance a vergelegen purchased for £3 is £18 a bottle here- scandalous!

went to the vineyards over there- franschoek, stellenbosch etc and you get 10 taster glasses for £1.50,

do like chilean also- love the casillero de diablo carmenere, top notch wine for only £6.

please dont encourage me!

The drug maker GlaxoSmithKline has bought a US company that uses a molecule found in red wine to try to slow the ageing process.

GSK announced last night that it is paying $720m (£362m) for Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a small firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sirtris is a pioneer in the study of sirtuins, a class of enzymes thought to prevent illnesses such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease, and to inhibit the processes behind ageing and obesity.

GSK is paying $22.50 a share for Sirtris, an 84% premium on its closing share price yesterday. It said the deal could lead to the production of exciting new drugs.

"Modulation of this family of enzymes is a potentially transformative science that could address diseases associated with metabolism and ageing such as diabetes, muscle wasting, and neurodegeneration," said Moncef Slaoui, the chairman of research and development at GSK.

Sirtris's research has focused on resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and red wine. It is known to increase the production of sirtuins by activating a gene called SIRT1.

Sirtris has been developing drugs that act in the same way as resveratrol by triggering the expression of the SIRT1 gene. It has conducted around 20 clinical trials.
courtesy of a guardian story last week

from what i have read, reservatrol has very poor bioavailability, but sirtris have patented a molecule which protects and allows proper absorption of reservratrol

Love them but I mostly drink Portuguese red wines, they are simply the best

Dr Mark Houston wrote:RESVERATROL: RED WINE POLYPHENOLS

• RESVERATROL, a polyphenol in red wine and the skin of young unripe red grapes activates a group of genes called sirtuins, (silent information regulator proteins), specifically the SIRT I gene in human cells. Also activates SIR2 which increases DNA stability, speeds cellular repair and increases total life span.
• Activation of SIRT I will extend life and works in conjunction with caloric restriction. SIRT I blocks the activity of the tumor suppressor gene P53, inhibits tumor initiation, promotion and progression as well as blocking apoptosis. Also protects human cells from gamma radiation.
• Resveratrol (trans > cis) extends life in yeast by 80%.
• Reduces BP, lipids, glucose, improves immune function, reduce cancer risk, improves exercise tolerance and weight loss, slows aging in experimental animals.

Mark Houston is the worlds leading vascular biologist.

Rab wrote:I like white wine better but ill give one of those this weekend when doing the shopping.

which would you reccomend for a non red wine drinker?

I'd highly recommend either of those two I mentioned or something very easy going like Hardys Merlot... that really is a nice wine and as I said it's high in resveratol

health4ni wrote:Sainsbury's Organic Chilean Merlot is lovely.

Wines grown from grapes in cold humid climates (like Cabernet Sauvignon, or wines from Bordeaux and Canada) have higher concentrations of reservatrol than those which come from hot dry areas. Pinot Noir has the highest concentration of reservatrol, regardless of the climate in which the grapes were grown.

And reservatrol is one of the best chemicals to get more of in our diet. An amazing chemical in fact.

Yes indeed.

I believe Pinot Noir has the highest concentration as you said, closely followed by Merlot?

I'm a huge red wine fan, though I have been t-total for over 6 months now.

Obviously I'm slightly biased towards french wines (i'm part frog you see), however I have developed a taste for Chilean wines recently. I'm a big Cote de Rhone, Bordeaux fan though I do love a good pinot noir too, so anything from the Burgandy Cote d'Or is well worth it if you like Pinot Noir. Favourite wine is probably a chateau beaucastel 1999-2000 is splendid!

Rab wrote:I like white wine better but ill give one of those this weekend when doing the shopping.

which would you reccomend for a non red wine drinker?

Buckfast.

"Just give me half a bottle of Blue Nun."


-On a more helpful note, I've just come back from NZ and the wine over there is excellent and cheap. Annoyingly though the Kiwi names you see over here are completely different from the stuff on offer in its homeland and about three times the price!

I forgot the wines i was to try so i just went for a bottle of organic Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile

Quite a strange smokey or woody taste to it. after the first it really does go down quite nice. I can probably get used to this

Cleaver - Bottles of bucky is a reserve for special occasions

I've been extremely good in regards to alcohol intake these past 12-18 months.... but...

This week I've had a bottle of red wine (between two of us) every single night for the past 6 nights. Those wines are sooo nice and they just relax me to that point perfectly, without actually being drunk and I sleep so soundly... love it!

I don't think half a bottle of wine a night is too bad is it? I wouldn't of thought that much alcohol would affect test' levels or anything??

.. anyway this glass is empty so I'm off to fill it up and watch the new movie "Lions for Lambs"

1/2 bottle is 375ml. I'd say that 250ml was prob the limit per drinking session. Which I guess is a large home glass right.

There's melatonin in red wine too you know; hence the good sleep