We investigated the relationship between wine consumption and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a longitudinal, eight-year study of the natural history of the menopause transition at seven geographical sites in the United States. Although similar in age, the 527 African American women had a worse metabolic profile than 1057 Caucasian women. Moderate wine consumption (one glass/day) was less common among African American women but was associated with a better lipid profile in both ethnic groups. Compared to women who drank one glass of wine per day, those who consumed no wine had twice the risk of developing the MetS.