It seems that in the last few years all alcohol intake has been demonized, with warnings that any alcohol can increase the risk of cancer. What is not typically mentioned are the studies finding health benefits from consuming low to moderate levels of alcohol. Especially wine consumed with a meal.
Studies for years have found a J curve in health effects - with low to moderate levels of alcohol consumed best for health, and no alcohol or rarely consumed a little worse, and high levels of alcohol consumption having the most negative health effects. In other words, low to moderate alcohol consumption (e.g., 1 glass wine daily) can be protective for certain health conditions.
The following study found that consuming low to moderate levels of wine is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, in older adults (mean age 68 years). Best was consuming between half a glass and one glass per day of wine - a 50% lower chance of cardiovascular events.
From Science Daily: New evidence on the relationship between moderate wine consumption and cardiovascular health
Light and moderate consumption of wine is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular complications, according to a multicenter study. The study is based on the analysis of a biomarker of wine intake -- specifically, tartaric acid, present in grapes. It was carried out in 1,232 participants in the PREDIMED project, a major scientific epidemiological study in nutrition on the effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular health.
Analysis of the data shows that light wine consumption (between one glass per week and less than half a glass per day) reduces the risk of having a cardiovascular complication by 38%, but this reduction reaches 50% when consumption is moderate (between half a glass and one glass per day). However, when consumption exceeds one drink per day, the protective effect disappears. The researchers also warn that "when we talk about moderate wine consumption, it is always with meals, never between meals."
From the study itself describing other research that found similar protective heart effects of low to moderate alcohol consumption: Urinary tartaric acid as a biomarker of wine consumption and cardiovascular risk: the PREDIMED trial
A large prospective study that included more than 380 000 men and women in Europe found a U-shaped association between alcohol (or wine consumption) and all-cause mortality. Interestingly, lifetime never alcohol users presented a higher risk of death compared to moderate drinkers (0.1–2.9 g/day).24
On the other hand, Mukamal et al.18 reported that consumption of two or more drinks per day (considering wine, beer, and liquor) was associated with lower risk of coronary heart disease in an older population. Another observational study that included older men reported reduced all-cause and CVD [cardiovascular disease] mortality with long-term light consumption of wine, equivalent to less than half a glass per day,25 which agrees with our findings. Furthermore, that study emphasized the effects of long-term consumption of alcohol on cardiovascular health, which also concurs with our results and previous independent findings.26
In addition, as the results for changes included in the Supplemental material show, our results indicated that usual consumption of wine in real-life conditions (baseline values, reflecting customary intake) may have a more significant beneficial impact on CVD rates than short-term changes.