A healthy attitude :
Following studies showing that moderate wine consumption is beneficial to health, Stéphane Courrèges, a Bordeaux oenologist and his Akima (photo), are marketing their wine "Corazon" which is rich in polyphenols.
The scientific world has come to the unanimous conclusion that regular but moderate drinking of wine, with a well-balanced meal, is good for your health : Three glasses for a man and two for a woman per day, with one day's abstinence per week is a recipe for a healthy (and longer) life.
Indeed, the "French paradox" - idea promoted by Professor Serge Renaud who ,after a brilliant international career, is now retired and living in the Gironde area - is still very much alive.
"We read everything that had been written on the subject of wine and health and decided to launch our "health wine" project in 2004," explains Sréphane Courrèges, who, not without a certain amount of nostalgia, recalls "..when I was a child, my grandfather used to pour an inch of wine in my glass, saying how good it was for my future health."
Stéphane, who lives in the Bordeaux area, is a consultant oenologist for some twenty Médoc properties including Château Greysac and La Cardonne. He and his wife have also registered as wine merchants in order to launch the new wine called "Corazon" - the Spanish word for "Heart".
This red wine is produced in A.O.C. Médoc and partly aged in oak barrels. The grapes come from plots specially selected by Stéphane. The yield is deliberately small and the grapes are at optimum maturity (even slightly over-ripe). This makes for a concentrated, full bodied wine. The production is around 30,000 bottles. The first vintage for Corazon was 2006 but it is not the vintage which figures on the label but the mention :"Rich in polyphenols".
"Polyphenols contained in wine help the body fight against cardio-vascular diseases and old age," says Akima Courrèges.
In the plant world, polyphenols form a vegetal defense mechanism and wine, which has a high tanin content, contains large amounts of polyphenols, especially resveratrol.
"We are selling our first bottles and American as well as Japanese buyers are sensitive to the health apsect of our marketing campaign," explain the Courrèges couple, who will be exhibiting both in London and at Vinexpo this year.
"However, we are not doctors and wine is not medicine! We know that associating wine and health is risky because, drunk in large quantities, wine can be a poison!"
Indeed, the "wine and health" argument could well backfire and most merchants avoid the association.
The Courrèges couple have a refreshing attitude towards the concept : "Corazon combines the pleasure of moderate wine tasting with the practical side of looking after one's health. Moderate wine drinking can be part of an individual's healthy régime, just as a balanced diet can."
Corazon is selling for 9.80 euros a bottle.
See : www.courreges-wines.com
In Brief :
THE PINK PANTHER ON A BOTTLE OF BORDEAUX 'CREMANT'(sparkling rosé wine) :
After negociations with Metro Goldwin Meyer, Jean-Christophe Icard, who is a wine producer in the Bordeaux region, acquired the right to sell his wine with a special Pink Panther label. The first bottles of this sparkling Bordeaux rosé will be on the U.S. market by the end of the month. www.chateau-orangerie.com
Author:
César Compadre
S.O. 12/02/09
Translated by Maxine Colas.