Resveratrol is a phytoalexin (antibiotics produced by plants that are under attack) found in the skin of red grapes and as a constituent of red wine. Resveratrol and other grape compounds have been positively linked to fighting cancer, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, and other ailments. Red wine typically has health benefits not found in white wine (with some exceptions) because many of these compounds are found in the skins of the grapes and only red wine is fermented with the skins.

It has been suggested that France’s high red wine consumption is a primary factor for the French longevity. It is believed that one of the active ingredients potentially related to this effect in red wine is resveratrol, but the concentration in wine seems too low to be significant. A study by Professor Roger Corder and team has identified a particular group of polyphenols, known as oligomeric procyanidins, which they believe offer the greatest degree of protection to human blood-vessel cells. Unlike resveratrol, procyanidins are present in wine in quantities that seem to be high enough to be significant as to lower blood pressure.