When my husband first told me that we were going to Italy to spend our vacation there, I literally went crazy; I love Italy and everything about it so much, and because of that love and admiration I signed up for a Italian language course and managed to communicate in Italian while on our vacation! That language is so musical, so lovely and the gesticulation that accompanies just makes the whole thing a lot more appealing. How can you not love it?

However, having the chance to speak Italian with actual Italians wasn’t my best memory; Rome is an architectural Heaven, Milan as one of the world’s fashion centres screams beauty and life, and simply everything there is breathtaking. And the Italian way of life, oh their stress-free, filled with music, fashionable lifestyle! Italians are amazing and they have a life motto that will make a lot of us put the finger on their forehead asking is it really that simple? No, it’s not their careers, nor their very healthy food and lots of exercise; it is the wine. Bloody red, unbelievably tasty, sizzling wine.

“Wine is the secret of life” is what one restaurant manager kindly explained to us when we so rudely hesitated whether to order a bottle or not. Apparently, no meal goes without a glass of red or white in Italy. And with a reason; a true Italian looks healthy, all happy, no wrinkles on his/her face and very vital. This is all because a true Italian is a real red wine drinker who knows exactly how to use the many benefits of red wine and its true qualities.

And while the rest of the world sees wine as the type of drink to make you feel dizzy and help you make bad decisions, Italians have a whole different philosophy; for them, being a red wine drinker is a sign of a healthy and long life. Plus, the fact that red wine is considered the drink of Gods makes drinking it a ceremony: according to Italians, one should never take red wine alone on an empty stomach, but always with food. Whether it’s a salad, or a heavy meal with meat – a real red wine drinker knows exactly how to take his glass of red the classy way. In addition to being the “secret of life”, red wine has a lot of other beneficial characteristics:

• Promotes longevity – According to a Finnish study, a red wine drinker has about 34% lower chances of mortality than someone who doesn’t drink red wine.
• Reduced risk of heart attack and heart diseases – The tannins in red wine contain procyanidins, which have been shown to protect the heart from potential heart diseases.
• Smoother skin – The presence of resveratrol is what makes every red wine drinker to have a smooth skin with no visible wrinkles. Resveratrol is an antioxidant, and as such works in the prevention of mental decline of cells-protecting you from diseases such as Alzheimer.

So, we are now red wine drinkers; there’s a glass of red on the table with every dinner that I make. I mean, I still enjoy a glass of white wine with some desserts, but after spending a week in Italy and getting kind of accustomed to the Italian way of dining, I turned the glass of red into a ritual for me and my husband; not just that we’re aiming for a wrinkle-free golden era, but we want to be happy, smiling and to spread good vibes all the time!