One of the weekends away was a lovely trip to the Gers area of Gascony, courtesy of the one of the largest wine co-operatives in the area, Plaimont, to taste some of their excellent wines, eat some of their local food and generally get to know the place. I'm not saying this just because they paid for a splendid, if brief, weekend, but because they seem a decent organisation, who appear to look after their employees, have a clear sense of the time honoured traditions of the area, but are also savvy enough to see that the emerging markets for their wine include India and China....I'll write more about Plaimont and the villages around Saint Mont later, either here or elsewhere. And one of their very fine white wines is recommended in this weeks column, which is here: http://tinyurl.com/3zrukp7
What is also interesting about Plaimont is that some of their red wines are made from the Tannat grape, which has been the identified as being a 'healthy heart' grape in research by Dr Roger Corder (which is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6195220.stm?lspan although there is something more technical here http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-the-Health-Benefits-of-Moderate-Red-Wine-Consumption&id=4512803 ) although the diet of the area is heavy on meats, particularly duck, foie gras and, well, more duck, and relatively low on vegetables, grains and pasta and all the other ingredients of the supposedly healthy 'Mediterranean diet.' It's closer to the Atlantic than the Meditteranean anyway and the countryside has a distinctly English feel to it. But what is also astounding is the longevity of some of the local people - I met wine growers well into their 70's who still work in the fields every day and one extraordinary man, Rene, pictured here, who tends some of the oldest vines in France, if not the world, although they are for the table, rather than wine. His age seemed a bit variable, but he said he had been working in the fields for about 80 years, so he could be around 90.
This is, of course what is known as 'the French paradox': how can such a diet and regular wine consumption lead to such longevity? The answer of course lies in many variable factors - regular physical work, fresh air and a relaxed and relatively un-stressful lifestyle all play their part. It is important to remember such people as Rene when there are stories around such as the latest report this week that said, effectively, 'drinking gives you cancer' (here is the BBC version, which also links to the original, slightly less emphatic, BMJ report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12999000) I'm not going to get into the whole debate here, except to say that it is important to realise that society is constantly in a process of re-assessment and reviewing its own behaviour, something accelerated by technology, medical research, our expectations about lifestyles and means of communication. What was once acceptable is no longer the case: The British Empire, male chauvenism, casual racism, battery chickens, asbestos, tobacco....you get the picture. Maybe the world is just beginning a whole process of re-appraisal of its relationship with alcohol, just as it is doing with our production of carbon and has done with tobacco. But I also want to add two other things: firstly, it's not new that drinking more than is sensible carries a risk of cancer and other diseases for some people and that, secondly, many other things also carry a risk to our health - excessive work, stress, lack of fresh air and exercise being just some of them. Which is why I'm going to switch off the computer and go and spend some time in the garden. And if I had some vines, I'd be looking after them like Rene...
