Lost and found...

I'm back! I took a slight blogging hiatus after returning from the West Coast to a whirlwind-week, but I'm up and running again. Napa was absolutely incredible, dare I admit I didn't want to leave?! Food and drink definitely met my Northern Californian expectations. My friends and I planned a day of wine tasting and vineyard-hopping over the weekend which was certainly the highlight of the trip. Wine tasting, what better way of putting a wine-loving nutritionist in her element? (as I've mentioned before, I'm a full-believer of everything in moderation!). Thanks to the genius planning and discerning tastebuds of my friend who lives in Napa, we tipped our tasting glasses at three off-the-beaten path vineyards, which is always my preferred method of traveling. Mumm, Honig and Regusci wineries were on the agenda (Regusci's vines and yours truly are pictured here). Gorgeous weather, great wine, good friends...can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon. Just a few fun nutrition facts around wine and champagne for your reading and drinking pleasure:

• the antioxidant compounds in wine, reservatol and flavonoids, can help prevent against heart disease, high-blood and cancer. red wine contains higher levels of reservatol than white. wine has also been shown to lessen the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and according to a recent study reported in the NY Times yesterday, it may also protect against liver disease.
• the key to remember is indeed moderation. to achieve wine's health benefits men should stick to 2 glasses or fewer per day, and females to 1 glass or less daily. anything above and beyond, you run a greater risk of turning the 'good-health tide' in the opposite direction.
• a serving of wine is just 5 oz, that's less than half of a typical wine glass. you're likely over-served at most restaurants where the common pour tops off around 8 oz. that could be a welcome bonus for your wallet, but potentionally not for the scale.
• to follow-up the above bullet point...thankfully the rumors you've heard about champagne are true. among wine varieties and cocktails, it trumps most in being the least caloric, love the bubbles. at 80-90 calories per serving, your skinny jeans can afford a few extra sips.

Whatever your wine of choice may be (in the heat of summer, I always fallback on a cold glass of rose`), imbibe and enjoy smartly and slowly...AND follow it up with a glass of water or seltzer. You knew that tip was coming. Cheers!