In ancient times

The history of wine as medicine dates to ancient Egypt and its Ebers Papyrus (circa 1550 BCE), which mentions mixing wine with herbs as an antiseptic and a vehicle for delivering medicines. Physicians in Mesopotamia used wine to dissolve and administer drugs, and Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE) recommended it for treating wounds, fevers, and digestive ailments.

Roman physicians prescribed wine even more widely. Galen (129–c. 216 CE) believed it purified the body and balanced the humors. He recommended white wine for fevers and red wine for melancholy. Roman military surgeons disinfected wounds with wine.

In the Middle Ages, monks in monasteries grew grapes. They made wine for liturgical use and as a remedy mixed with spices, resins, or opiates. Islamic physicians such as Avicenna (980–1037 CE) also recommended wine in their medical treatises, but were often constrained by religious prohibitions.

Paracelsus (1493–1541), an alchemist, emphasized the transformation of substances through fermentation and distillation, promoting medicinal spirits and fortified wines. By the 18th century, doctors routinely used wine to stimulate the appetite, prevent scurvy, and treat tuberculosis.

In modern times

The 19th and early 20th centuries marked a shift in how wine was viewed medically. While continuing to appear as a tonic in medical formularies, the advances in modern medicine reduced its clinical appeal. Nonetheless, physicians still included it in diets for convalescent patients.

Interest in wine and health surged again in the late 20th century, when epidemiological studies suggested cardiovascular benefits associated with moderate wine consumption. The so-called “French Paradox”—the observation that the French had relatively low rates of coronary heart disease despite a diet rich in saturated fats—was attributed to regular red wine intake. Red wine contains polyphenolic compounds, particularly resveratrol, found in grape skins, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective properties. At present, the medical community is not convinced. It emphasizes that people should not drink for mere health reasons. Drinking wine daily is generally not recommended by health authorities, and prudent US dietary guidelines suggest limiting its intake to one glass per day for women and two for men.

In culture

Ernest Hemingway thought wine was the most civilized thing in the world and only regretted that he did not drink more of it.

Frank Sinatra felt sad for people who did not drink wine for breakfast, for that is when they would feel best all day.”

Benjamin Franklin thought, “Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.”

Charles Baudelaire thought, “One should always be drunk. That’s all that matters.”

Lord Byron wanted “wine and women, mirth and laughter, and sermons and soda water the day after.”

Rumi said, “Either give me more wine or leave me alone.”

Alexandre Dumas loved everything old—old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.”

Robert Louis Stevenson thought, “Wine is bottled poetry.”

John Keats: “Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather, and a little music played out of doors.”

Euripides: “Where there is no wine, there is no love.”

Pope John XXIII thought men were like wine: some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.

Wine for dinner

Louis Pasteur said, “Wine is the most healthful and hygienic of beverages,” and “A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.” Also, “a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”

W.C. Fields cooked with wine and sometimes even added it to the food.

Madeline Puckette thought champagne was appropriate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Too much of anything was bad, but too much Champagne was just right.”

Dom Perignon: “Come quickly! I am tasting stars!”

Martin Luther believed that “Men made beer, God made wine.”

Connoisseurs think life is too short to drink bad wine. They regard wine as the intellectual part of the meal.”

Many people can live without culture and food, but not without wine.”