Nutrition Journal reports a prospective analysis of 340,924 UK Biobank participants, followed for an average of 13.4 years, examining associations between wine, beer, cider and spirits consumption and mortality. High overall alcohol consumption was associated with a 24 per cent higher risk of death from all causes, a 36 per cent higher risk of cancer death and a 14 per cent higher risk of cardiovascular death, compared with never or occasional drinking. Low-to-moderate wine consumption was associated with lower mortality in the statistical analysis, while comparable consumption of beer, cider or spirits was associated with higher mortality, but this observational study cannot demonstrate that wine itself caused the apparent difference, as lifestyle, diet and socioeconomic factors may distinguish wine drinkers from other groups. Importantly, high wine consumption was associated with increased mortality from several cancers, meaning the findings should not be interpreted as evidence that people should begin drinking wine for health reasons.