The top of the list for healthy wines
(Last updated 8:02 AM ET April 26)
LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Cabernet Sauvignon, a top choice for many discerning drinkers, may also be one of the best varieties of wine for a healthy heart.

Dr Jean-Paul Broustet of Haut Leveque Hospital in Pessac, southern France, said Cabernet Sauvignon grapes have high levels of resveratrol, a potent ingredient that increases good cholesterol and limits the production of artery-blocking bad cholesterol.

"The highest concentrations of resveratrol...are found in red wines, particularly in Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of Bordeaux," he said in an editorial in Heart, a British medical journal.

Red grapes produce resveratrol to protect themselves from a potentially deadly fungus. They are also high in other antioxidants called polyphenols that prevent cell damage from oxygen-containing chemicals called free radicals.

Quercitin, another compound in red wine, helps to dilate blood vessels and prevents blood clots.

In an earlier study, researchers from the University of Glasgow in Scotland singled out Chilean reds, including Cabernet Sauvignon, for their health-enhancing potential.

Broustet said the "effects of a good red wine are strongly linked to the pleasure of educating the nose and palate, the wine selection, the knowledge of its vineyard, and the degustation (tasting) in a warm and enjoyable environment."