For several years, studies have been looking into the benefits, more and more recognised, of a moderate consumption of wine, alongside the increasing number of French anti-alcohol campaigns.  This paradox shows the ambiguous side of wine consumption with regard to health, such as it has been noted right through history..

Indeed, we find mention of the medicinal effects of wine in the most ancient of civilisations and more particularly in the Greeks.  Hippocrates, father of doctors, codified the multiple medicinal usages: externally, wine was used as an antiseptic and healer for wounds; internally, it was prescribed in many areas (obstetrics, neurology, gastroenterology, etc.).  Likewise, the Romans appreciated its anti-poison virtues.
In Western countries, obscurantism, which was predominant in the Middle Ages, declared that only monks had the right to perpetrate the medicinal practices of Hippocrates, a tradition that gave its name to one of the most well-known of its medicinal wines, the “Hippocras”.  The centuries thereafter altered nothing in the medicinal reputations of wine. It was only in the 19th Century that people became aware of the dangers of wine when consumed in excess, at which point the Academy of Medicine set down, in the 20th Century, the exact dosage levels authorised, whereupon anti-alcohol campaigns became a necessity.  Since then, the benefits of

moderate wine consumption  observed over time have been masked by the anti-alcohol declarations due to the confusion between moderate and excessive consumption..

Hence, many studies   have been conducted for the past thirty years in order to try and define the positive effects of a moderate consumption of wine on health, and scientists are now able to confirm what our elders have been saying all along...
The role of wine in cardiovascular protection appears more and more unquestionable, such as shown through many epidemiological studies carried out worldwide, including the famous “French paradox”: despite varying risk factors, such as a sedentary life and rich, copious meals, the death rate in France due to cardiovascular complaints is one of the lowest in the world!  It also seems that a moderate consumption   of wine can be beneficial to the cognitive functions and to maintaining their integrity..

Generally speaking, a reasonable consumption of wine on a daily basis, linked to a balanced diet, is beneficial to the health and to life expectancy.  In this same line, an association reuniting the whole wine industry was set up about fifteen years ago in order to defend the values of wine within French society.  The aim of "Wine and Society" is to promote the valorisation of wine in political terms, in order to contribute to the development of the wine industry, while responding to public health requirements.  Find more information on the actions of Wine and Society on the http://www.vinetsociete.fr website.