Wine and Health: From the Perspective of Alvise Cornaro to the Latest Scientific Opinions

Anna Lante, Matteo Marangon (), Simone Vincenzi, Giovanna Lomolino, Antonella Crapisi, Gabriella Pasini, Stefania Malavasi and Andrea Curioni
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Anna Lante: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Matteo Marangon: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Simone Vincenzi: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Giovanna Lomolino: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Antonella Crapisi: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Gabriella Pasini: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Stefania Malavasi: Università di Padova, Via 8 Febbraio, 2, 35122 Padova, Italy
Andrea Curioni: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment-DAFNAE, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: In this opinion article we explore the link between regular wine consumption and human health, starting from the teachings that Alvise Cornaro, a Scholar at the University of Padova, left us, especially on his “La Vita Sobria”, a treatise published in Padova in 1558. A key role in his suggested diet is reserved for wine, an alcoholic beverage that, he advocated, should be consumed regularly, a concept that fits well with the central role that wine played in the Middle age society. Indeed, at that time, wine was consumed in large quantities, and it was generally mixed with water to make the latter safer for consumption. Monks and doctors also used wine as a medicine, as this was regularly administered to sick people of all ages to cure their illnesses. Wine maintained a similar role until the middle of the 20th Century, shifting from a source of energy to a pleasure, even if moderate wine consumption has been reported by epidemiological studies as having health benefits, particularly in relation to cardiovascular diseases. Conversely, any level of alcohol intake has recently been recognized as harmful, an occurrence that the modern wine industry is tackling by increasing the production of wines with reduced alcohol content. Nevertheless, nowadays, wine continues to be consumed for the pleasure it can provide and for its role as a social catalyzer.

Keywords: Alvise Cornaro; Discorsi della Vita Sobria; wine and health; red wine; white wine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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