Wine and sex

Italian researchers noted alcohol tends to arouse women more than men

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Wine and sex

There is an old saying about lovemaking—a little wine increases the opportunity, too much wine decreases the performance.

An Italian research group looked into the first part of this proposition and found red wine did, indeed, increase the sexual appetite of women.

Alcohol in small amounts increases libido. It does so by stimulating a primitive part of your brain called the hypothalamus, located right above your brain stem. The hypothalamus regulates basic functions—hunger, body temperature, parental attachment, hormone levels, and—umm—sex drive.

The Italian researchers noted alcohol tends to arouse women more than men. It could be argued men don’t need much—or anything—to get aroused, but it appears smell is an important factor for women and women are aroused by different smells than men. Women respond to earthy, musky, woody, cherry-like aromas. Guess what, those are descriptors of red wine aromas.