Resveratrol

Wines have been studied for their resveratrol content because of the supposed health benefits that this compound has. Resveratrol is able to help the body fight various diseases including cardiovascular ailments, stroke, cancer, diabetes, allergies, and much more.

Grapes have the most concentration of resveratrol but drinking a couple of glasses of wine each day gives you more resveratrol than eating a pound of grapes. The reason behind this is that wines get fermented and fermentation encourages the production of more resveratrol. You may think that raisins may also be a good choice, especially the sun dried ones. However, raisins do not contain resveratrol because of over exposure to the sun.

What Wines Have The Highest Resveratrol Content?

Between white wine and red wine, the red variety has more resveratrol than white because red wine is fermented longer. White wine has about a tenth of resveratrol content in red wine. Some even believe that the only reliable non-supplement source of resveratrol right now is red wine. The most potent resveratrol-laden beverage is pinot noir. Pinot noir has more resveratrol than red wine varieties like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, or cabernet franc. Since pinot noir grapes are naturally more delicate and rot easier, they need to produce more resveratrol to protect themselves from pathogens.

In fact, the region the pinot noir grapes originate from also affects the resveratrol content. Grapes grown in regions that are both cool and moist will produce a higher resveratrol count than anywhere else. Specifically these regions include Washington, Oregon, North/South Carolina, and New York.

Among these places, New York’s pinot noir seems to be the most viable choice since it contains about 6 units more than pinot noir from other places.

If you are up to the challenge, you can start looking for two particular years and brands of pinot noir made in New York and North Carolina. These two had been tested and proven to have the most concentration of red wine resveratrol in recent history. These are the Benton-Lane Pinot Noir ’97 and Dennis Vineyard’s Noble Muscadine ’98. There is also a vintage red wine – Vinifera’s Fleur de Pinot Noir, that has been reported to have an even higher volume of resveratrol.

Aside from New York, Washington, and South Carolina pinot noir, you can also get a fair amount of resveratrol from French burgundy, Californian cabernet, and Australian pinot noir. Over 70 types of wines have been tested for resveratrol content. Among those, the ones mentioned above are the only ones that have significant resveratrol content.

You might be able to use a red wine kit to make your own wine that has a high concentration of this substance. I have yet to hear of anyone making wine in order to specifically increase the resveratrol content.

If you are thinking of getting the resveratrol supplements out in the market today, you might be interested to know that the low quality resveratrol pills contain very little or nothing at all. This is because at the time of packaging, resveratrol content can disappear as soon as it is exposed to elements like air. With pinot noir grown in the best places, a glass of red wine a day actually keeps you healthier and stronger.