Merlot 101

Is red wine (merlot) healthier than drinking a beer?

Public Comments

1. Danish researchers now believe that that red wine may not make a person healthy, as many studies propose, but it may be that people who drink it are smarter and live a healthier life. Researchers further say that people that drink beer only are poorer, not as smart and have emotional problems. Now, now, don't get upset. Those are not our words, but the results of extensive studies by a group of Danish researchers whose results were published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine. A study of hundreds of Danish men and women showed that socio-economic status, IQ, healthy living and red wine consumption are all related. This relationship may explain why red wine drinkers in general are healthier than their peers, researchers speculate.
2. In Italy we say that "Rosso fa sangue" "Red makes blood". It means that a glass of wine per day is good, but we also say "chi beve birra campa 100 anni" "Who drinks beer lives 100 years"
3. It depends on what kind of beer you drink and how much. Regular beer contains Maltose, and is the worst kind of alcohol out there. However, light beer (Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, etc) doesn't contain Maltose and has fewer calories than Red Wine. So if you consume 1-2 beers (particularly lite beers) vs 1-2 glasses of wine, beer is technically "healthier." Here's a calorie count: Beer (4.6% alc): 41 calories Wine (12% alc): 77 calories Spirits: 250 calories Problem is, you get drunk much faster on wine and drink smaller amounts, therefore consuming fewer calories.