The Pinot Noir Scored Well--In Anti-Oxidants

Pinot Noir healthier than Merlot?Some Swiss and American scientists have come up with a device that measures the polyphenol, or antioxidant chemical, levels in individual bottles of red wine. And the pilot test in Switzerland identified pinot noir as the grape with the highest potential health benefits. (Put another feather in the cap of the Willamette Valley!) 

The Swiss researchers at the Polytechnic School of Lausanne, working with colleagues at Stanford University in California, say they have produced a machine that can quickly test levels of polyphenols in individual bottles. The device has been tested on 500 Swiss wines and is ready to be marketed in France.

Jean-Charles Hoda, one of the Swiss research team, told The Guardian in London that he could foresee a day when wines would carry positive health notices. "The antioxidant properties of wine are well known, but this machine means we are able to measure the actual chemicals in the bottles. We started off looking at this from a medical point of view, but then we realised it had an interesting commercial application."

Here's the Guardian story.