(From an
article by Juan P Simo in the Diario de Jerez)
The Spanish
Government’s minister of health, Ana Mato, is drafting a new “Ley de alcohol”
(Alcohol Law) which contemplates the restriction of alcohol to minors even with
permission from parents or guardians, the restriction of alcohol consumed by
adults in the streets, and its promotion. If it proceeds through negotiations without
dilution it will be pioneering legislation in Europe by integrating under the
same legal umbrella all the laws concerning consumption, labelling and
advertising. There will be serious fines for any infringement. The implications
are very worrying as the similar “Loi Evin” in France has had profound detrimental effects.
The intention of the law is to curb under-age drinking and the annoying "botellones" or street drinking parties the young so love. As usual with politicians, they can see no difference between people drunk on beer and spirits and civilised wine drinking, so there will be no exceptions in the law for wine.
The Spanish
bodegas will fight this tooth and nail as it ignores the positive benefits of
drinking moderate amounts of wine and demonises its consumption, a part of the
culture, as mere alcohol. Besides, alcohol consumption in Spain is steadily
falling anyway. So now would be a good time to show the positive side of
alcohol. The wines of Jerez have a long anecdotal - and almost certainly
genuine - history of health-giving properties, and perhaps the following will
convince any sceptic.
There was
the miracle of Manuel Maria Gonzalez Gordon (1886-1980), author of the book known as the “Sherry
Bible” ("Sherry" in the English edition) and director of Gonzalez Byass. As a child he was sick and the doctors
gave him little chance of survival, but regular doses of Sherry saw him through
and he lived a long, productive and healthy life to the ripe old age of 94.
Another miracle
was that of the King Alfonso XIII, who at only four years of age proved to be a
sickly child with weakness and fever. Various things were administered to him
at all hours: soups, milk and even Sherry, but the latter ensured his health
and survival. Yet another was a soldier of the second squadron of the cavalry
of Santiago who was in 1854 a wreck of a man, suffering from pneumonia. They
tried everything till his doctor prescribed a biscuit steeped in dry Sherry to
be taken every three hours. In three months he was fit enough to leave the
clinic.
So, what
are the benefits of drinking Sherry which are not already well known? Well, for
example, does our minister know of the home remedy of “candie” (from the
English “candy eggs”), a glass of sweet Sherry with an egg yolk which is infallible
against the flu or a cold? Or “chiribitas” (from the English Sherry and
Bitters)? Or a small glass of Sherry with two eggs to ward off anaemia? Or that
Oloroso Rio Viejo kills flu bugs?
If all the
foregoing were not enough, there are millions of reasons confirmed by educated
people such as historians, doctors, researchers and health organisations, who
over many centuries have come to the simple conclusion that moderate drinking
of wine is beneficial to the health.
From the long-lived Noah onwards, everyone praised the virtues of wine.
Saint Matthew advised his disciple Timothy to drink a little wine instead of
water for the sake of his stomach ailments. Hipocrates recommended wine as the
ideal remedy for “the fever of the combatant”, while Homer reckoned it gave one
strength.
In the
classical pharmacopoeia Sherry was known as “Vinum Xericum”, recognising its
tonic and therapeutic properties. One of the great surgeons and politicians,
Fermin Aranda, from Jerez, who performed the first open heart surgery in the
world, and whose daughter Pilar ran an outstanding almacenista business, was
quite right when he said that Sherry is life-giving wine as it contains iron,
nitrogen and vitamins, and sufficient alcohol to cool any fever.
Louis
Pasteur called wine the most healthy and hygienic drink, while Sir Alexander
Fleming, discoverer of Penicillin reckoned that while his discovery could cure
the sick, Sherry could resuscitate the dead. Another doctor, Jose Luis Ruiz
Badanelli, put to bed the notion that Sherry, drunk even moderately, could cause
cirrhosis of the liver. He was quite clear: “Sherry has surprising qualities:
it doesn’t irritate the stomach with acidic compounds like tannins and
tartrates as happens in other wines. It is a nourishing and powerful remedy
which, when administered at the right time to the patient, strengthens the
cardiac muscle and speeds up the metabolism.” Sherry was regarded as wholesome
enough by the bodega workers that it occasionally made up for the lack of
lunch. Columbus drank more Sherry than he ate food on his journey to the
Americas.
The great
bibliophile Jose de Soto Molina described Sherry as a “vivifying tonic par
excellence”, while the great XIX century novelist Benito Perez Galdos also described
it as “vivifying”, and many of his works are impregnated with his preoccupation
for exalting the medicinal virtues of Sherry. In the more recent past, the
Nobel prizewinning author Martin Rodall came to Jerez to support the work of
the Estevez family in reducing the histamine content in Sherry, and praised the
wine as a “healthy drink”. Severo Ochoa, another Nobel Laureate and one of
Spain’s most distinguished scientists, never stopped praising the health-giving
virtues of Sherry.
Another
great protagonist of Sherry was Gregorio Marañon, a famous doctor and scientist
from Madrid, who in his lecture to the Fiesta de la Vendimia in 1955, defended
moderate consumption of Sherry. “Let us reject the supposed dangers of wine to
health. My colleagues and I have seen some hundred thousand patients with all
sorts of complaints, and very few of them were caused by excess of wine.” He
maintained that wine- in moderation - is inoffensive and often useful, as long
as we stay within our limits.
Sherry is a
powerful anti-oxidant which combats cancer and ageing. The anti-oxidant
properties of Sherry are 100 times more effective than vitamin C, and 25 times more effective than vitamin E. These anti-oxidants are known as polyphenols, and attack
free radicals and the effects of ageing.
Longevity
is a well-established trait in Jerez. Remember Manuel Maria Gonzalez Gordon who lived
to 94 after the doctors had given up hope. His father Pedro Nolasco reached 97,
and his father, GB founder Manuel Maria, recognised the role of Sherry in his
recovery from childhood tuberculosis, dying at 75, an advanced age for his
time. His great grandson, Mauricio died quite recently at the age of 90.
As a final
point, let’s remember Manuel Salido de la Cal from Jaen, a businessman in the
graphic arts, father of Antonio Salido Paz, founder of the Jerez football team,
Jerez Industrial, who, in various interviews explained how he reached his
centenary. “Every day I had a glass of wine before lunch: a glass of Oloroso to
set myself up, and maybe one or two glasses of Fino. I feel terrific.”
So there we
are; in Jerez someone who doesn’t recommend Sherry either doesn’t like it – or
they are mad. You are probably convinced by now – or always were – but just in
case, there follow some even more convincing footnotes:
*30-50%
reduction of risk of death by heart attack with moderate consumption as against
abstention.
*Reduces
arterial pressure and thereby arterial sclerosis.
*Stimulates
concentration, reduces stress and is helpful against Alzheimers.
*Moderate
consumption has no effect on the digestive and nervous systems.
*Facilitates
digestion and stimulates appetite without causing weight increase.
*Fights
osteoporosis.
*Delays
ageing.
*Lowers
cholesterol.
*Acts as a
mineral supplement.
*Reduces
allergic reactions.
(Legal disclaimer: Please remember that while moderate consumption of wine/Sherry does have positive physical effects, not all doctors see things that way. This is not intended to persuade you to drink anything other than moderate quantities of Sherry.)
