Red wine ‘secret to long life’ says 107-year-old

A Spanish winemaker who died last week at the age of 107 put the secret to his long life down to drinking four bottles of red wine a day.

Galician winemaker Antonio Docampo lived to 107

Antonio Docampo of Bodegas Docampo in Galicia was accustomed to drinking two bottles of red wine at lunch and a further two bottles at dinner, according to The Independent.

But Docampo, who fought for Franco during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, died in the city of Vigo in northwestern Spain last week.

“He could drink a litre and a half at once and he never drank water,” his son, Miguel Docampo López, told Galician paper La Voz. “When we were both at home we could get through 200 litres of wine a month,” he added.

Docampo founded Bodegas Docampo in Ribeiro in 1928 but didn’t start bottling his own wine until 1988. The five-hectare organic estate specialises in wines made from indigenous Spanish varieties Godello, Treixadura, Mencía and Garnacha, which are sold in the UK by Lea & Sandeman.

“He sold the majority of the wine he produced, but kept a decent amount back for himself,” his nephew, Jerónimo Docampo, who runs Bodegas Docampo, told La Voz.

“If he produced 60,000 litres a year he’d keep 3,000 litres for himself. He always said that was his secret to living so long,” he added.