Great news everyone, Alcohol has now been declared to be healthier than water folks. Drinking Alcohol also helps you live 25 years longer that you would have without it. Drinking five shots of Vodka daily cleans your blood of all impurities as well. Did you know that drinking Alcohol cures all Cancers and eliminates all viruses? O.K folks, lets get real now. While these headlines might be exaggerated slightly there is research(?) concerning Alcohol that might surprise you and as wine drinkers, even thrill us, but is this ....research something that you should trust? While this may be a weird article coming from someone who drinks and writes about Alcohol, I want everyone to understand that there is such a thing as overdoing something as well. The question is how much ingestion of poison (in this case Alcohol) is too much? In my opinion while consuming very small Amounts of Alcohol might be O.K, moderate to large amounts are harmful and in some cases can even be deadly. Damage from Alcohol is cumulative as we probably already know. Years of overdoing it can in fact, lead to death. With this being said today I want to write about a subject that is something we all should be aware of and that subject is Alcohol. I also want to write this article because I am upset at all the junk science that is being spewed out today in the so called "news" media concerning Alcohol. It seems that everywhere you look there is news(?) or articles about how Alcohol is a positive thing and, even healthy for you. Yeah, that's right lately the news has been saying that Alcohol is actually good for you. Oh they may switch the conversation around and talk about 1 negative aspect of what is bad concerning Alcohol itself but for the most part the junk science wants to convince us all that Alcohol is really actually a good thing for us. Well, today I will address the Alcohol debate by simply starting off educating you about Alcohol. Now, please keep in mind that I am not a Doctor and I am not attempting to give you any medical advice. I recommend that if you have any questions you do your own research and investigation into this matter yourself. O.K, now to begin with, what is Alcohol?
To begin with here the type of Alcohol that I will be discussing in this article is named Ethyl Alcohol which is drinking Alcohol and is produced by the fermentation of grains and fruits. Pure Ethyl Alcohol is colorless and
toxic to the Central Nervous System. In the body, Alcohol is converted to Acetaldehyde and than to Carbon Dioxide and water (
https://www.britannica.com/science/ethyl-alcohol). Alcohol is metabolized primarily (90 percent) in the liver (Cirrhosis). The initial effects of consumption of Alcohol are being overly giddy or happy, relaxed or experiencing a feeling of tranquillity and can also appear to suppress anxiety, and even inspire feelings of confidence (liquid courage). The reason for these effects is that Alcohol relaxes us and removes our inhibitions is because it effects our brain by starting to slow it down. This alters our thinking process. So now that we have listed some of the seemingly acceptable, or more pleasant effects of Alcohol drinking let's move on to the progressive effects of the consumption of Alcohol. Before I get into that area however, I want you to remember that as always I am going to keep it real so to speak. For most if not all of you guys some of this information will be stuff you already know but I hope I have thrown information in this article that will also educate you as well. Let me kick the next paragraph off by stating that Alcohol is a depressant as well as a poison! Having said that bluntly, let's carry on.
While Alcohol is indeed a depressant and a poison it can (as already stated above) in very small amounts indeed have some seemingly positive effects on us.While light consumption of Alcohol once and a while may be a good thing and in MY OPINION is better than being put on psyche drugs of any kind, too much Alcohol alters our thinking pattern dangerously and can also convince us that engaging in risky behaviors such as fighting ("liquid courage"), driving, swimming, having unprotected sex, or operating machinery is also O.K. As we continue to drink and the poisoning of our body becomes worse we start to exhibit more serious symptoms such as slurred speech, difficulty in focusing, mental confusion, becoming sad or crying for reasons that do not appear appropriate to those who are not drinking. I am sure we can all relate to some if not all of the lesser or acceptable symptoms and perhaps even the risky behavior as well. As the Alcohol poisoning becomes worse the slurred speech, difficulty in walking become more serious and progress until you not being able to be understood other people or things or you actually are falling down and injuring yourself, the Alcohol poisoning is progressing to the point where you are in now danger and serious consequences of the poisoning begin to occur. Let's briefly discuss that poisoning for a minute..
The end stages of the Alcohol poisoning are now appearing such as Vomiting which by the way is your bodies way of attempting to rid itself of the poison you put into it and save itself (your life). You may now have lost the ability to walk at all or perhaps are pronouncing words coherently or you can no longer form sentences. In the final stage the Alcohol poisoning will cause seizures, coma and than finally death as the end result.
For the sake of time I won't even get into the long term effects of Alcohol abuse such as Cirrhosis because I think I have gone on long enough but I will add that according to the World Health Organization, Alcohol is associated with over 200 types of disease and injuries and is linked to over 3.3 million deaths around the world each year (
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs349/en/).
Let's now move on to what I call the new "junk science" that says Alcohol is actually healthy for you. Please note that as I have already said, I am in no way attempting to say that occasional small amounts of Alcohol have SOME (not many) short term benefits. My point is simply to give you the information that you need to know so that you can make up your own mind on the consumption of Alcohol. So, now that you know what Alcohol is and what it does let's look into what the new "junk science" is attempting to convince us of.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald (
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/study-counters-claims-that-alcohol-consumption-may-provide-health-benefit-20170526-gwe16h.html) ".....moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of
initially presenting with several, but not all, cardiovascular
diseases,"" The Georgetown Dish (
http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/right-amount-alcohol-can-improve-health) says that "a recent study published in the Journal, Clinical Nutrition found that only light drinking (1-7 drinks per week) was associated with a reduced risk of heart disease". How about the May 2017 issue of Wine Spectator Magazine (
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/More-Proof-that-Wine-May-Prevent-Dementia) who posted an article entitled "More Proof That Wine May prevent Dementia". I guess poison is now actually good for you. OK, OK, I know what your going to say, what about Resveratrol, I thought there are studies that show it is great for the heart and doesn't that come from the Red grape skin? Well folks here is the real story about Resveratrol. According to WebMD (
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/resveratrol-supplements) there isn't any specific dosage recommendation". The article goes on to say that to get the dose used in some studies you would need to consume 2,000 milligrams a day".
The average glass of Red wine (5.3 ounces) contains around 1 - 1.5 milligram of Resveratrol. That means that you would have to drink around 200 glasses of red wine a day.
According to Palate Press which boast that it is an online wine magazine, "There is good news for diabetics. “Peak blood sugar concentration is 30%
lower after a meal that includes a glass of wine,” Dr. D’Agata reports.
“That lower blood sugar is at the core of why wine is good for you.” or “We could do something at the school level and get them early and promote a healthy way to drink wine,” concludes D’Agata. Did you read that? "get them early and promote a healthy way to drink wine". Now we see that people believe that we should be teaching our kids to drink wine. According to the Georgetown Dish (
http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/right-amount-alcohol-can-improve-health) ".... Through the decades, most studies have shown that light to moderate
alcohol intake is connected to a reduction in all causes of death...". One last example here is on Cosmopolitan on line (
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/diet-nutrition/a9246340/can-alcohol-be-good-for-you/) cardiologist Dr Alexander Jones of UCL “agrees that alcohol raises your
risk of a wide range of cancers but believes there is decent evidence
that alcohol can be beneficial for the heart." How about in the same article "In the case of dementia, some research shows that those who are
considered ‘light drinkers’ are less likely to develop neurodegenerative
conditions, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases." After reading the facts about Alcohol that I have posted in the prior paragraphs and now after reading all these comments by .......doctors(?) that moderate Alcohol consumption is actually good for you, the choice is yours on what to believe. Keep in mind also that originally Doctors once said publicly (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvWu1qwz0ac&spfreload=10) that smoking cigarettes was actually good for you.
So, what is the point behind this article Desert Wine Guy? Good question guys and here is my answer. It is pretty obvious to everyone that I consume Alcohol so I am not saying that you should stop consuming Alcohol. I think I wrote this article because I am so tired of reading one day that Alcohol is good for you and the next day reading that Alcohol is bad for you. I simply wanted to lay out what I believe are the facts and let you make your decision. I am tired of the so called "news" sending out mixed messages on everything (wine in this case). I am reminded of the literary classic 1984 by George Orwell and what is called in the book, "double speak". Folks, I have laid out the facts as I see them I leave the rest up to you.
The Desert Wine Guy
www.desertwineguy.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?fref=nf
https://twitter.com/DesertWineGuyLV
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCUb3w1n2S_UGU2yYRkFYQ/videos
Hello everyone and welcome back for another great wine review. Today I will be discussing the 2012 Hangtime Chardonnay. This wine was cellared as well as bottled and owned by the famous Michael Mondavi. So let's begin by telling you that this is certainly what is referred to as a "new world" version of the Chardonnay varietal. This terminology is due to it's lack of dominate crispness and acidity and its fruit forward notes of tropical fruits. Certainly there a hint, perhaps actually a bit more than a hint of a crispness or acidity which appears on the back end of this wine but for the most part and fairly dominantly there is an overwhelming mouth and Palette of fruit forwardness present. This fruit forwardness of course isn't a problem for those of you who desire that new world freshness in their Chardonnay. A buttery note in the wine was placed nicely and compliments the moderately sweeter notes. Neither note was over the top and the notes finished nicely and evenly across the Palette. As a side note, I actually drank this wine room temperature as I do all my wines and I think that really brought this wines notes out rather nicely. I think if this wine was chilled it would cut the fruit on the front Palette slightly as coldness has a way of doing. This could either be something that is perceived as nice at times and at other times not so nice, it all depends on what you expect from 
your Chardonnay. This can wine came be drank when at room temperature and at the same time I can envision this wine being drank slightly chilled while sitting on a nice cushioned chair outside while wearing your favorite ski jacket and watching the stars. WOW, what an imagination huh:). Back to the acidity or crispness for a little bit. This wine can please both the old as well as the new world Chardonnay drinkers if the crispness or acidity was integrated better. Since the sweeter fruit notes of forwardness are stronger perhaps the acidity would have been better up front to fit that bill. There is also the slight note of Grapefruit that is almost hidden. A super nice Pear is also up front as well. There is no flatness on the Palette or a time where the fruit notes falls off and leave dead space on the Palette either. This white finishes strong and in my book has the perfect name (Hangtime) given to it. These were Chardonnay grapes given more "hangtime" to develop a higher Brix or sugar level in the grapes. Before moving on let me say that when I use the term "fruit forward" I do not mean simply a sugar note. What I mean is that due to the true notes being fruit, there is sugar that naturally comes along with that fruit. Some would say that the fruit forwardness or sugar note might be a bad thing but in a wine that is fruit forward like this is simply natural and to be expected. This is a moderately soft and pleasant wine that can really scream either Summer or Winter in my book. Here s wine that has the ability to go along with your mind set at the time. Adding to these notes is a slight bit of a Limestone type edge that contributes to the slight acidity and crispness. Summing this wine up now I feel that I have to split the ratings that I give it on The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale. Let's begin with the first part of the two part split. 
