What are the properties of red wine that benefit the heart?

It is the antioxidants in the red wine that are believed to be heart healthy. There’s also something called resveratrol that they believe may also play a role in it as well, but there hasn’t been a lot of research done on humans for resveratrol yet. It’s not just red wine that may provide some health benefits, but there is concern about promoting drinking of other types of alcohol as well. Here is an article about red wine and heart health.

Don’t regular dark grape juices and other dark juices (sans the alcohol) have it too?

Yes. Blueberries, dark red grapes, Acai and Goji berries etc. all provide similar benefits.

Just be sure to watch out for all the juices flooding the market with the names of the berries prominently on the label when they actually make up a very small percentage of the total liquid volume (mostly Apple juice and water).

Read the labels very carefully. If they don’t state specific percentages, you really have absolutely no idea how much (or HOW LITTLE) of the desired berry it contains.

They are all over the shelves of both Health food stores and even regular grocery stores. Just be wise before paying 3–4 times as much just for a label.

Here is a delicious organic Concord grape juice that is just grape juice.

It is so serious that I have to dilute it with ½ water.

That’s a really good example, Gail. I noticed in the description that it’s 100% grape juice and I’m assuming that’s on the label as well.

And for that, the price is worth it for 32 oz. because one knows exactly what they’re getting.

Isn’t regular old Welch’s 100% grape juice?

From what I understand, for resveratrol to be therapeutic, you need a ton more than you could ever drink in wine or juice. Actually, here is the wikipedia on resveratrol, I only briefly skimmed it. It seems there are no human studies that support all the claims of its benefits, but there are animal studies.

@JLeslie:Look at label of regular old Welch’s and compare with organic, pure, holier-than-thou grape juice at your health food store. You’ll be surprised.