Is cheap wine hurting your health?

When choosing a red wine, vino that’s cheap (cough, boxed wine) is temptingly easy on the wallet, so we had experts weigh on what it means for your health.

You’re heading over to a friend’s house for dinner and you stop first to pick up a bottle of red wine. Will she think you’re cheap if you pick one up for under $10? Will she even notice the difference if it’s $22? You wouldn’t notice, but the last thing you want is for her to take a sip and realize you spent more on your mani than her hostess gift.

Great news: More than likely, the only way she’ll know you splurged is if you leave the receipt in the gift bag. At least that’s what a recent video from Vox.com has determined. The site had their staffers blindly taste wines from different price points, and they all actually preferred the cheapest wine. The video went on to discuss how even wine connoisseurs often can’t tell the difference in price.

So it tastes just as good no matter how much you’re forking over, are you at least getting more of a health bang for your buck? Red wine boasts loads of health benefits—it contains antioxidants like resveratrol and polyphenols, which help fight inflammation; it has been shown to protect against heart disease; and it has been shown to stave off decline in memory as you age. But a fancier merlot is not going to give you a stronger dose of those benefits, says Molly Kimball, R.D. For her, the question of whether expensive wine offers more health benefits is pretty cut and dry. “There’s not even a maybe. The price wouldn’t matter.” (Did you know Scientists Are Making Hangover-Free Wine? We’ll take some of that, thanks.)


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