Why Wine is Better than Beer and Why We All Should Drink More of It

Photo Credit: telegraph.co.uk

Whenever someone mentions the word “wine” almost everyone I know responds with unbridled enthusiasm but then there are also some that politely pass (probably because they can’t hold their liquor?). Ever since time immemorial, wine has always been a part of our lives, whether we are celebrating a battle victory, getting married, getting divorced, graduating from college or in some cases, graduating from life. There’s always a reason to celebrate with wine, no matter how inane or trivial.

When it comes to alcohol people have about a million preferences, from plain chilled to mixing with anything they care to mix it with. Some prefer wine and some prefer beer but really, if you truly want to experience a whole new level of relaxation, wine is the beverage you should be imbibing. Sure, beer will knock you out flat in about an hour or two and no, wine isn’t just for the elite and snobby set and true, there’s just something about drinking beer on tap and no, wine isn’t always expensive.

I could go on and on about the virtues of each but for this article, I would like to concentrate more on the great things about wine because quite frankly, there just isn’t enough you can say about a great bottle of wine. Let me start by saying that the wines I enjoy, like shiraz wine, particularly those Australian-made shirazes because it’s really easy to pair them with food and really tasty for cool-climate wines.

In fact, I can safely say that I’m not the only one who says hurrah to the Shiraz. In China and Thailand and in most parts of the world, Australian-made shiraz makes up the biggest volume of sales, with Australia being the second biggest exporter of wines to these countries. What with the wine itself costing just between $17 to a maximum of $40 per bottle, it is no surprise that people from all walks of life like to enjoy a glass or two of this high-quality red. That and the fact that being perceived as a wine-drinker gives you social status.

In the Western world and in most of Asia, however, our reasons for preferring wines to beer have nothing to do with climbing the social ladder or being king of the heap. For one, you can drink wine in different kinds of glasses and then get to use the empty wine bottles for decoration or turn your wine corks into chairs. Seriously though, I drink Shiraz because red wine is known to lower the risk of heart diseases and that’s because it helps you relax more and really, really de-stresses you at the end of a hard day at work. FYI, the term “one glass” is always relative.

Even those who may not know so much about wine buy some because admittedly, there are bottles that have those pretty interactive labels or those that look really good on your home bar. Face it, it is half the reason why you buy wine anyway and not because it helps sharpen your memory more than when you don’t drink it at all.

Oh and did I mention that red wine polyphenols in particular, can keep gum disease away? Or that the flavonoids in wine can inhibit the growth of tumors in certain cancers? Or reduce the risk of depression? Need I go on about health benefits, even about how you can still drink a little red wine even when you’re pregnant? 

And lastly, stress can kill you but if you drink a moderate amount of wine, chances are you’ll live longer so rather than reach for that Heineken, reach for a Grant Burge Shiraz instead. Studies show that people who drink wine have a 34% lower mortality rate than those who don’t. If living longer isn’t reason enough to get you drinking, I don’t know what else will. If you want to lose weight, wine has decidedly less calories than beer – plus, it won’t give you a beer belly.

You might also like:

Australia Shiraz: The Story Behind The Wine (American.edu)

Cabernet, Petit Syrah & Pinot Noir Top Wines for Heart — Day 26 (huffingtonpost.com)

Or you can watch this video:

New Study Points to Possible Benefit of Drinking (A Little) Wine While Pregnant (huffingtonpost.com)