Irrational Exuberance And The Resveratrol Trap

Today’s headlines say it all … From the rational (#1) to the irrational (#3):

1. Scientists shed light on how resveratrol works
2. Health Benefits of Resveratrol in Red Wine
3. Scientists develop red wine “wonder pill”

I hate to be a buzzkill, but all of the research confirms two things:

1. People who consume moderate amounts of alcohol (not just wine) , live longer than abstainers or heavy drinkers. The data is still iffy on whether wine of any color is better than beer and spirits.
2. To intake enough resveratrol from red wine, a person would have to consume enough to put them into an alcoholic  coma … or a casket.

RESVERATROL = TRAP FOR WINE INDUSTRY?

That means that the wine industry falls into a vicious trap if it promotes red wine as a health food on the basis of the resveratrol.

It’s the alcohol. Not too much. Not too little.

But if the industry gets behind resveratrol, they are promoting a compound that might be beneficial in supplements without alcohol.

IT’S THE ALCOHOL, STUPID!

Think about where that last bit of illogic leads. It leads to a place:

1. Where the industry can get nailed for being deceptive and,
2. Promotes the idea that a non-alcoholic supplement can do what red wines does … without the alcohol.

And that last claim is as deceptive as promoting red wine consumption in order to get resveratrol.

WINE IS A HEALTHY PLEASURE NOT A PHARMACEUTICAL, BUT …

This whole resveratrol, red wine and alcohol issue demands that the industry educate on the basis of fact.

Wine is not a pharmaceutical.It should be a pleasure to be enjoyed in moderatiom.

But the billions of dollars behind the anti-alcohol lobbies will continue to hammer their same old false lines that alcohol in any amount is poison. And THAT is having an effect worldwide, driving up prices and making wine a guilty pleasure for a decreasing number of people. Just look at the stunning decline in wine drinking in France thanks to that nation’s NeoProhibitionist Loi Evin.

STAY WITH THE FACTS AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND

Given that wine industry organizations are comatose at the wheel, educating the public, pushing back against the NeoDrys and helping wine remain a pleasure that can be enjoyed in moderation demands that individual wineries  have a civic responsibility to spend a small amount of their promotion efforts to get the facts out.

Otherwise, no matter how hard a winery tries, more and more people will simply not feel good about the product.