Welcome to the first installment of Summit Lake Winery's Vintage Views wine blog! As founder/CEO of Summit Lake, I will be your initial host/author. As time marches on, I may bring in other folks from our organization to contribute their thoughts and interject fresh views. And, before we begin this journey of exploring the wonderful world of wine, food, and the marriage of the two, let me first throw out a couple of disclaimers: 1) I don't know how often I will be able to write! The change of the seasons brings different time commitments for me and the staff of SLW. Winter could allow more time for writing and reflecting, whereas the busy warm months keep me hopping at the winery way before dawn until way after dark. 2) I will attempt to not make this a sales tool. That's what our website and Facebook pages are for: to inform and entice. My main goal with this type of media is to talk about wine and food, and not necessarily the wine and food at SLW. Matter of fact, I am surprising my wife with (I hope) a fabulous evening of blind wine tasting and food at a location within an hour's drive of Jefferson City. I do not want to give away too much information here, simply because of the fear of blowing the surprise. But I intend to give a full report right here after the fact. And, 3) I promise to keep my writings short and to the point. You won't see any mini-novels posted here, as I'm not the best of writers. And for those folks who don't know me, I'm a man of few words. I'm a far better listener than a speaker. So you'll find my writings a quick-read.
In this first edition of Vintage Views, I want to report on the discovery of how red wine consumption can change your appearance. We've all heard about the years of study that red wine supports your heart and may help you live longer, but ongoing research shows red wine helps maintain younger-looking skin. Resveratrol is a powerful ingredient found in the skin of red grapes and other dark fruits (e.g. blueberries, cranberries) that help protect the fruit from environmental stresses (cold weather, ultraviolet light, etc). And when you consume wine and food containing resveratrol, this protection benefit transfers to you. This compound is an anti-aging antioxidant that produces cellular protection in your skin and reduces age-related wrinkles. The list of benefits from consuming resveratrol is long - cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more. So I'm promoting a healthy lifespan by drinking red wine. There's more research happening with resveratrol, such as which red grape, from which region of the world, contains the highest concentration of this ingredient. Let's unwind with a glass of healthy red wine. As always, I promote balance in your consumption of alcohol; know your tolerance levels. Following a healthy balance of food and beverage is your ticket to a long and happy life.
Cheers!
John Ferrier
