Throughout the centuries, alcohol has been called “Aqua Vitae” or “water of life” and has always been praised for its medicinal properties. In the following paragraphs, we will share a brief history of society’s attitudes towards alcohol and specifically about drinking wine and its benefits throughout history.
Attitudes towards wine in the Medieval and Renaissance periods
During medieval and Renaissance times, people celebrated drinking wine and alcohol for its medicinal properties. They considered wine to be an important contributor to health.
This was because people observed that monks lived longer than the rest of the population. Naturally, people assumed it was because they drank wine regularly, as the monasteries had many vineyards.
But it was not only wine that was praised for its wonderful effects. Even distilled alcoholic beverages were called “Aqua Vitae” or “water of life” for their medicinal value.
For example, gin was born as genever, the Dutch word for juniper. At first, pharmacists distributed it as a treatment for gout (sudden painful arthritic attack) and dyspepsia (indigestion).
As the medieval period ended and the Age of Discovery started, wine turned out to be essential for overseas exchange and a significant piece of the eating regimen on ships. Apportions or rations included 1.25 pints of wine per man each day.
In 1600, Samuel Pepys (pronounced peeps) writes about the use of caudle as an effective treatment for seasickness. Caudle was a hot drink made from a mixture of oatmeal with wine or beer.
However, for most people during the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, good wine was only available to the nobility and upper classes. It was not a drink for everyone. Then society changed.
Since in many countries wine had to be imported, drinking wine became associated with the upper classes.
Drinking wine in the 19th century
The 19th century saw the Industrial Revolution and the formation of a new class, the middle class, for the first time. The upper segment of the middle class included businessmen, factory owners, doctors and lawyers, and people with money to spend. Whereas wine was previously only drunk by the nobility, it became the mainstay of middle-class wealth.
Wine also became a necessity in the kitchen…. The caudle, a mixture of porridge and wine mentioned above, is now a common home remedy and in the 19th century, wine is the ingredient that remedies many diseases.
But in the major wine-producing countries, such as France, Spain, and Italy, wine is considered an extension of food and is drunk by everyone.
Then, in the middle of the 19th century, four North American vine diseases destroyed the vineyards of Europe.
At this time, in France, wine is considered an inherent right. To deprive someone of wine is like depriving him of water and health. To satisfy the high domestic consumption of its population, the French government relaxes the laws by reducing taxes on sugar imports, and imported wine and even allows the production of wine with imported raisins.
drinking wine in the 20th century
In the early 20th century, farmers in Champagne, Bordeaux, and southern France revolted and forced lawmakers to enact laws to protect the integrity of French wine. Wine is so crucial to French identity and to its economy that each wine region has its own set of laws and government departments to control production and seek out violators and apply punitive measures.
DrinkingWine and its historical health benefits
Wine has a long history of use as medicine, often being recommended by physicians, including Hippocrates, considered the father of medicine, and alchemists. It was consumed as an alternative to water, often polluted, as well as to disinfect and heal wounds, as a digestive aid, to purge fever and the sufferings of childbirth, as a remedy for man’s ills, as a love potion and guarantee of eternal life, for rejuvenation and sexual potency, and even as an aphrodisiac. The wine was easy to make; ancient winemakers used whatever grapes were available and relied on the natural yeast in the grapes to ferment the wine. The wine was easy to drink (and its high alcohol content made it easy to dissolve herbs and other medicines.
Among the many ancient beverages was one called Hippocras, a highly spiced honey wine that was brewed more than 2,300 years ago by Hippocrates. Hippocras was very popular in Europe until the time of Louis XV of France.
Over the past few decades, hundreds of studies have confirmed the health benefits of drinking wine, especially red wine, in moderation.
Numerous studies have found that a potent polyphenol known as resveratrol, which has antioxidant properties, is found in the seeds and skin of red grapes. Red wine has a high percentage of resveratrol in light of the fact that the skin and seeds mature in the grape juice during the winemaking process. White wine likewise contains resveratrol, however, the seeds and skins are eliminated from the get-go in the winemaking process, which diminishes the percentage of the compound in the wine. Resveratrol is likewise present in blueberries.
Scientific research has suggested that resveratrol may have highly desirable health benefits, from fighting cancer and heart disease to delaying aging. The amount of resveratrol in wine varies by grape variety, country of origin, and winemaking process.
Some research shows that wine may also have other health benefits, such as slowing memory loss, preventing dementia, fighting weight gain, protecting against dental disease, and reducing the risk of depression.
Let’s not forget the wise words of Hippocrates on the health benefits of wine.
“Wine is a substance superbly fit to man, both in wellbeing and in sickness or bad times, whenever regulated brilliantly and in the right amounts, as per the individual constitution.”
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