Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 21, 1991 TAG: 9104210176
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
Researchers at Old Dominion University point to studies that show wine has ingredients with medicinal value, and they're trying to determine just how much of those compounds are in Virginia-made wines.
Roy Williams, an ODU professor of chemical sciences, and Jacques Recht, winemaster at Ingleside Plantation Vineyards in Westmoreland County, have been working since last year to identify the healthful ingredients in Virginia wines.
The research is related to similar studies in Europe, Williams said.
"There are some materials, particularly in red wine, that if you isolate and administer them to people with certain problems, there seems to be some health benefits," Williams said.
In France, he said, certain components in wine have been used in a drug to treat people with cardiovascular problems. Another wine component is used to produce a skin creme that helps block the sun's harmful rays.
"You see, when the Californians say you shouldn't drink before going to the beach, they're careful not to say don't drink red wine," said Recht, who also has written articles on the social history of wine.
Another wine ingredient has been used to treat people suffering from radiation sickness caused by the Chernobyl nuclear plant failure in the Soviet Union, Williams and Recht said.
"There are a lot of uses for these compounds," Williams said."We're just trying to find out how much is there and how to enhance and increase the levels of these positive health factors in red wine."
Recht's 25,000-acre winery near Oak Grove produces the wine, and Williams analyzes the product and uses it as a control to test other Virginia wines.
The project was funded last summer by the state Wine Advisory Board.
by CNB