Published on June 23, 2008 at 7:29 AM
Scientists have discovered a method of making white wine as healthy as red.
Red wine is favoured by many health conscious tipplers because it contains higher levels of polyphenols - antioxidants which lower cholesterol and are thought to help prevent cancer.
The polyphenols are found in the skins of grapes which are left on as the pulp ferments in the production of red wine but when white wine is made they are taken off.
Now researchers in Israel have found a way to preserve the polyphenol content of white wine grapes.
They do this by allowing the skins to ferment with the pulp for a relatively short time, around 18 hours and by the addition of a small amount of pure alcohol.
According to Professor Michael Aviram, professor of biochemistry and medicine at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, who carried out the research, as white wine is so popular, the aim was to produce a white wine with all the same benefits.
Professor Aviram says the wine produced is similar to a dessert wine because the added alcohol inhibits the ability of the sugar in the grape to convert to alcohol.
The technique apparently produces wine that looks and tastes the same as white wine but has the same antioxidant activity as red wine.
The Israeli wine manufacturer Binyamina has begun using the formula to manufacture the new healthier white wine, which is expected to go on sale in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Professor Aviram says the research has generated an incredible response and many are now considering white wine more seriously as a drink.