Grapes can help lower blood pressure and improve heart function, new research has revealed.

Scientists examined the effects of red, green and purple grapes on rats that develop high blood pressure when fed a salty diet.

After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than rats that ate a salty diet but no grapes.

A leading Nelson winery embroiled in a bitter vineyard squabble, and under pressure from its bank, has been ordered to pay a local grape grower for tonnes of 2009 vintage Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes.

A bid by Greg Day’s Kahurangi Estate, Upper Moutere, to set aside grape grower Leo Buysrogge’s statutory demand for payment of $70,125 was dismissed by Associate Judge Rob Osborne in the High Court at Nelson.

But the fight’s not over, Mr Day told the National Business Review.