Wine lovers who worry about whether their love of Chateau Ausone or Chateau Petrus has an impact on their health can take comfort from a new book.

The book, entitled Guilt Free Drinking, claims to use a wealth of scientific evidence to prove the odd glass of Haut Brion is not bad for health, and it actually carries many benefits, the Drink Businesses reports.

Author Robert Beadsmore says that many people mistakenly think that as heavy drinking has been proven to be bad for an individual's health, moderate drinking must be moderately bad.

"Epidemiological research shows this simplistic line of thinking to be erroneous," he told the publication.

Scientists at Tromso University in Norway recently published the results of a 5,000-person seven-year study into people's drinking habits and its effect on cognitive function.

The research found that moderate alcohol consumption - especially wine - led to better performance on cognitive tests.