The Technion-made white wine, contains more flavonoids, the natural
chemicals that counteract the damaging effects of cholesterol
oxidation.
According to Prof. Michael Aviram of the Technion, processing white
wine by putting grape skins of chardone or muscat grapes [which are
white or yellow in color] in contact with alcohol for a short period,
helped extract the skin's flavonoids, and produced white wine rich in
potent antioxidants similar to those found in red wine. Red wine
retains its flavonoids because the grape skins are left on the grape
for several weeks prior to the wine preparation.
Prof. Aviram presented his findings at the New York Academy of
Sciences Alcohol and Wine International Meeting which took place in
Palo Alto, California, April 26 to April 29, and will publish them in
the August 2001 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food
Chemistry.
Since the skin of white grapes can't be left on longer than 18 hours
without compromising the taste and aroma of the wine, Prof. Aviram
added alcohol, naturally obtained from wine to the squeezed grapes
during the preparation process. This increased the flavonoid level
more than five-fold, making them as potent as the much greater amount
found in red wine.
The alcohol added to the white wine resulted in a slightly stronger
wine with 16 percent alcohol content (versus 13 percent in most
wines) and since not all the grape sugar was converted into alcohol,
it resulted in the formation of a dessert wine.
In a related study, Prof. Aviram's team found, that Israeli wines
contain a relatively higher content of a group of flavonoids that
are even more potent, than those found in French wines.
"This group of flavonoids is produced at an enhanced rate under
intense sunlight, which may account for the higher flavinoid content
in Israeli wine," he explained.
Prof. Aviram has been studying for many years the effects of various
foods including pomegranates, tomatoes and licorice and their
influence on cholesterol oxidation and cardiovascular diseases. He
was the first to clinically prove that red wine reduces cholesterol
oxidation and attenuates arteriosclerosis, the major cause of
morbidity and mortality in the Western world
Just ahead of the recently celebrated Passover holiday, scientists at
the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have created a kosher
white wine with the same beneficial effects as red wine. In a
related study, they also found that Israeli wine has more of the
health-promoting chemicals than its French counterparts.
Researchers have known for years about the beneficial effects of red
wine, the consumption of which has been linked to lower cholesterol
oxidation. Cholesterol oxidation has been identified as a major
contributor to the blockage of arteries.