With only three out of 18 volunteers able to tell the difference between dog food and paté in a blind tasting by the American Association of Wine Economists, it's no surprise we're just as confused about whether or not wine is good for us.

Alcohol is harmful, right? Red wine is full of antioxidants, therefore good for the heart. Right? Yet a recent study reported that a mere one drink a week increases a woman's risk of breast, pharynx and liver cancer. So what action should we take.

Professor Roger Corder, author of The Red Wine Diet, reports that wine in high doses "does seem to enhance the lifespan of mice - but you need huge doses." Alcohol metabolizes in the body into toxic compounds. But scientists don't understand how these compounds cause damage. And because age, gender and genetics influence how alcohol affects us and each of us is different, what works for one person may harm another.

"It's an absolute myth that red wine is good for you," the author of the wine and cancer study, Professor Valerie Beral of Oxford Unversity told the BBC.

Professor Corder doesn't agree. His research, he says, identified a group of chemicals that are the key component in providing protection from heart disease. He didn't refer to cancer.

If you translate the quantities the study mice consumed in their life times to humans, they would amount to thousands of liters. The professor recommends two small glasses of a very tannic wine as beneficial.

Confused? Pour yourself and your friends a glass of wine from any old bottle. The same association found that if you tell your friends the wine is expensive, they'll relish it more. Hand round a plate of dog food bruschetta to go with it.