Red or white wine? Which is more healthy?

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I was just curious, sometimes I drink red and white wine from the same company, but I was wondering, let's say both the red and green grapes are grown in the same place, is the red wine more healthy for you(cause grapes got anti-oxidants in it) over the white wine made with green grapes?

I searched on the net for this question, but they only talk about what red or white wine goes with what foods and describes the texture or taste, but nothing about which is has more nutrition in it. I mean, all their is on the bottle of wine is mainly the surgeon general report, the alcohol %, and something about the where it comes from. It's not like a vitamin bottle where it tells you what % of nutrient contents are in each.

If you don't know, which would you guess would be healthier for you? You know how they say the color of the fruit has a lot to do with it Just like how red pepper probably has different nutrional value as green peppers, even if they both come from the same family and grown in the same soil area.

So simply put, which has more nutrition in it, red or white? If you don't know, what would be your guess just from either instinct or assumption.

What do you think?

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Red wine versus white wine - is there a difference in health benefit?

Hope that helps a bit.

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Graffiti,

Wow Very Happy

great read!!!

I was shocked to read this:

"It should also be noted here that the fermentation process of converting grapes into wine enhances the antioxidant level many times over"

First thing popped into my instincts is that how in the world can something be done, like fermentation, to grapes, thus altering it from it's most natural form, right off the vine from mother nature herself, give it even more antioxidant power? But if it does, then, hey, even better! :wink:

Thanks!! I appreciate info. Very Happy

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chris56789 wrote:

Graffiti,

Wow great read!!!

Thanks!! I appreciate info.

I am happy you enjoyed the article.

You are very welcome, by the way. Very Happy

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...
One thing to understand is the difference in the vinification techniques for red and white wines.

Grapes come in many colors (Green, Purple, Black, Gray).

However, wine typically comes in 2 colors (Red and White).

Despite the color of the grape, the juice squeezed from them is primarily clear. The pigments in a grape are found in its skin. So, the process of vinification that makes a red wine is to leave the clear juice (called must) in contact with the skins before, during, and sometimes after the fermentation process. During this period (called maceration), the must removes pigments, tannins, and many other compounds from the skins (basically like osmosis).

With white wines, the juice is racked (moved) into vats that keep the must separated from the skins. This process keeps the juice from absorbing the pigments, tannins, and other compounds that could be found in the skins.

Some white wines are aged sur-lie, meaning in contact with the skins. As far as I know, this is always done with white wines that come from light colored grapes. In this way, the whites can extract character from the skins without picking up dark pigments.

Okay, that's probably too much info for now, but let's synthesize it quickly.

With most produce, nutritionists will tell you that the most beneficial compounds are found in the skin. So, the more you separate your food from its skin, the less beneficial the food is from a health perspective.

So, it makes some sense that red wines and whites that are aged sur-lie would pick up more of the beneficial compounds from the skin of the fruit.

The last factor is how the wine is fined/filtered. It's possible to remove pigments from a wine (pinot grigio is often a gray juice before the pigments are removed).

It remains to be seen whether the fining/filtering process removes any beneficial compounds.

So, white vs. red may not be the issue. Rather, it may be that two reds or two whites could have significantly different health values based upon the vinification techniques employed in its production.

Wow. I can barely understand what I just typed, so I hope you guys are smarter than I. Smile

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Re: ...

Waldo_ wrote:

One thing to understand is the difference in the vinification techniques for red and white wines.

Grapes come in many colors (Green, Purple, Black, Gray).

However, wine typically comes in 2 colors (Red and White).

Despite the color of the grape, the juice squeezed from them is primarily clear. The pigments in a grape are found in its skin. So, the process of vinification that makes a red wine is to leave the clear juice (called must) in contact with the skins before, during, and sometimes after the fermentation process. During this period (called maceration), the must removes pigments, tannins, and many other compounds from the skins (basically like osmosis).

With white wines, the juice is racked (moved) into vats that keep the must separated from the skins. This process keeps the juice from absorbing the pigments, tannins, and other compounds that could be found in the skins.

Some white wines are aged sur-lie, meaning in contact with the skins. As far as I know, this is always done with white wines that come from light colored grapes. In this way, the whites can extract character from the skins without picking up dark pigments.

Okay, that's probably too much info for now, but let's synthesize it quickly.

With most produce, nutritionists will tell you that the most beneficial compounds are found in the skin. So, the more you separate your food from its skin, the less beneficial the food is from a health perspective.

So, it makes some sense that red wines and whites that are aged sur-lie would pick up more of the beneficial compounds from the skin of the fruit.

The last factor is how the wine is fined/filtered. It's possible to remove pigments from a wine (pinot grigio is often a gray juice before the pigments are removed).

It remains to be seen whether the fining/filtering process removes any beneficial compounds.

So, white vs. red may not be the issue. Rather, it may be that two reds or two whites could have significantly different health values based upon the vinification techniques employed in its production.

Wow. I can barely understand what I just typed, so I hope you guys are smarter than I.

Im confused

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Thank you for all that information - great reading. And thanks Waldo, now I know why a red grape (pinot noir) gives a white wine (champers!) Very Happy

I recall reading a study - not in a professional journal or anything - that resulted from the apparent paradox of a high fat diet (butter, meat etc) and low levels of heart disease in people in the Pyrenees region. Turned out it was the wine that was keeping blood fats down. Of course there was a problem with liver disease but c'est la vie :wink:

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I'm not sure. I just drink both in equal amounts to be on the safe side. Of course if you have just finished off a bottle of red, one MUST do the same to a bottle of white.......

...if you urinate during this carefully collect and record the liquid expelled. Replace it with health-giving wine.

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Red or white wine? Which is more healthy?

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