We’ve hit the season for indulgence, and there is no deity more fitting for the innumerable holiday feasts of December than Dionysus, god of the grape harvest. And while we are warned, time and time again, about the perils of excess, especially when it comes to vino, many a wino have justified a glass of red, white, or everything-in-between wine with the health benefits it brings. And while we can quantify to no limits the many subtleties in which wine improves our health, there’s no doubt that a glass or two can help keep everyone in higher, happier spirits.

The rule of thumb remains, however: everything in moderation. In wine-speak, that can mean anything from two drinks a month to two or three per day.

Heart health

The stats: Regular wine drinkers are less likely to suffer from a heart attack due to high blood pressure than those who don’t drink wine.
What’s in it: Red wine in particular carries procyanidins, an important compound in the protection against heart disease. Wines hailing from Sardinia and southwest France are particularly rich in this complex chemical.

Stroke of luck: Blood clot-related strokes are 50 percent less probable in those who regularly consume moderate amounts of alcohol.

Sugar rush

The given: Type 2 diabetes patients receive conflicting advice about how much wine they may actually consume without affecting glycemic control.
Prevention before cure: From a study conducted by Amsterdam’s VU University Medical Center in 2005, it was found that moderate drinkers carry 30 percent less risk of developing this type of diabetes than those who don’t drink wine. If you’ve managed to skirt this disease, you’re probably better off having a glass or two, rather than staying away from wine altogether.

Eye spy

What’s your poison? Tests conducted in Iceland (2003) showed that wine drinkers have a 32 percent less chance to get cataracts than those who don’t consume any alcohol. The kicker here affects those who favor their beer instead—wine drinkers are 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than those who are into their brewskies.

Youth elixir

The fountain of youth: This age-old legend may be closer to our lips than any secret potion. Antioxidants contained in red wine help combat free radicals that lead to aging and the diseases related to it.

Why not just grape juice? Resveratrol is a polyphenol that comes with wine’s fermentation process, thus it can’t be found in juice.

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