Iron overload is often associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), indicating that hepcidin, the master regulator of iron homeostasis, might be involved in diabetes pathogenesis. Alcohol consumption may also result in increased body iron stores. However, the moderate consumption of wine with meals might be beneficial in T2D. This effect has been mainly attributed to both the ethanol and the polyphenolic compounds in wine. Therefore, we examined the effects of red wine on hepcidin in T2D patients and non-diabetic controls. The diabetic patients (n = 18) and age- and BMI-matched apparently healthy controls (n = 13) were men, aged 40–65 years, non-smoking, with BMI < 35 kg/m2. Following a 2-week alcohol-free period, both groups consumed 300 mL of red wine for 3 weeks. The blood samples for the iron status analysis were taken at the end of each period. The red wine intake resulted in a decrease in serum hepcidin in both the diabetic subjects (p = 0.045) and controls (p = 0.001). The levels of serum ferritin also decreased after wine in both groups, reaching statistical significance only in the control subjects (p = 0.017). No significant alterations in serum iron, transferrin saturation, or soluble transferrin receptors were found. The suppression of hepcidin, a crucial iron-regulatory hormone and acute-phase protein, in T2D patients and healthy controls, is a novel biological effect of red wine. This may deepen our understanding of the mechanisms of the cardiometabolic effects of wine in T2D.

Studies of the cardioprotective effects of wine are mainly focused on red wines, due to their much higher content of bioactive compounds relative to white wines. Although some studies indicate a cardioprotective effect of white wine, there is no clear consensus on the existence of additional benefits of white wine over ethanol. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of moderate consumption of white wine and ethanol on the survival of rats subjected to surgically induced myocardial infarction (MI). Male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 74) were randomized into three groups: water only, white wine or a 13% v/v ethanol/water solution. After a four-week drinking period, MI was induced by ligating the left anterior descending artery. The survival rate was highest in the wine group (72.2%), and lowest in the water only group (47.8%). There was no statistically significant difference in survival between the ethanol and water groups. An analysis linking drinking volumes to survival outcomes revealed that lower ethanol consumption was more prevalent in rats that survived, indicating an upper limit for the protective effects of ethanol. An opposite finding was noticed in the wine group, where no deaths occurred in rats with an average daily white wine consumption of approximately 10 mL or more. We conclude that moderate consumption of white wine has a positive effect on survival after a myocardial infarction, which cannot be attributed only to ethanol, but also to other white wine constituents.