Daily consumption of a glass of fine Bordeaux or Burgundy wine can help ward off dementia well into old age, according to a new study.

A collaborative study from a number of German university psychiatric departments has revealed that moderate alcohol drinking can significantly reduce a person's risk of developing dementia.

Imbibing alcohol once a day reduces the dementia risk by 30 per cent compared to non-drinkers, even after an individual reaches the age of 75.

More than 3,202 initially dementia-free patients were observed over three years, as were their drinking habits.

"These results are similar to several previous studies in the very elderly and suggest that moderate drinking is associated with less dementia, even among individuals aged 75 years and older," the report authors concluded.

Separate research from Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute recently revealed that drinking moderate amounts of red wine could improve the body's ability to fight cancer.