[53, 54] In the Medoc and Haut-Medoc regions in France (left margin of the Gironde River), the wines are primarily made of selleck screening library Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (up to 75%), while in the right bank of the Gironde River, due to the arenous soil, the typical wines are primarily made with Merlot grapes as those

from the Pomerol district, which originates the legendary Chateau Petrus.47,50-52 Merlot is a dark blue wine grape used as a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Its softness and “fleshiness,”

combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which is much higher in tannins.[50] Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, Merlot is one of the primary grapes Paclitaxel manufacturer used in Bordeaux wine, and it is the most widely planted grape in the Bordeaux wine regions. Merlot is also one of the most popular red wine varietals in many markets throughout the world.50-54 This flexibility has helped to make it one of the world’s most planted grape varieties. As a varietal wine, Merlot can make soft, velvety wines with plum flavors.[44, 46, 47, 53] Some of the fruit notes commonly associated with Merlot include cassis, black and red cherries, blackberry, blueberry, and plum. Vegetable and earthy notes include black and green olives, nuts, leather, mushrooms, and tobacco. When Merlot has spent significant time in oak (longer than 8 months), the wine may show notes of caramel, chocolate, coconut, coffee bean, smoke, vanilla, and walnut.[46, 47, 53] Wines, especially Avelestat (AZD9668) red

wines, are very different in composition, producing processes and therefore, taste and the ability to please. Consumption habits of different grapes and varietal wines are very peculiar among countries and people. For the good or bad, wine has been linked to headache and migraine attacks as a traditional trigger. Tannins and the phenolic flavonoid components of the red wine, with its ability to interact with the metabolism of certain monoamines as well as its capacity of mobilizing 5-HT, are probably related. However, the methodology of most of the studies discussed in this review and the analysis of the available literature do not allow definitive conclusions regarding the real role of wine in headache. We believe that red wine is indeed a migraine trigger, at least for a percentage of migraineurs, even under regular preventive treatment. In addition, red wines with more tannins are probably worse in triggering migraine attacks. Controlled studies with well-known wines are important to clarify this common belief.