Headache

While many get headaches from drinking wine, few will admit that it's probably from simply drinking too much. Instead, we'll blame our head pain on Sulfites or some other constituent of the wine. However, for some, wine related headaches are truly a mystery; part of a syndrome known as Red White Headache syndrome, RWHS.

Not a great deal is known about the cause of RWHS, but the fact that it is an issue with “red” wine might lead us to suspect that it’s something in the skin of the grapes, where the red color of wine comes from. The usual suspects are histamines, tannins, and prostaglandins which are all found in red wines.

Most red wines contain tannins. Tannins in the blood cause the release of serotonin and high levels of serotonin can cause headaches. However tea contains tannins and no one complains about tea headaches, so perhaps Tannins aren't a good suspect. Red wines have significantly higher histamine levels than white wines. But studies have found no difference in how a group of RWHS sufferers reacted to high and low histamine wines. Prostaglandins are compounds that contribute to pain and swelling but, so far, no causal relationship has been found with RWHS. So how about those infamous sulfites? Red wine does contain sulfites, but white wines typically have much higher levels. So despite the mythology associated with sulfites and headaches, it’s probably not a viable suspect in RWHS.

Not all red wines cause all RWHS sufferers to have headaches. There are a lot of variables in the production of wine. Probably the largest being what the French call terroir [teh-RWAHR] or what we might call microclimate. Essentially, this is everything related to the place the grapes are grown: soil, climate, geology, altitude, wind conditions, etc. Merlot grapes grown in Napa Valley will not be chemically identical to Merlot grapes grown in Washington State, Argentina or, for that matter, in other parts of Napa Valley. The wine-making process also varies from wine maker to wine maker. So the quantity of the offending ingredient; tannins, histamines, prostaglandins or whatever it might be, differs from grape to grape, winemaker to winemaker, and therefore from wine to wine. So, odds are that if you get headaches from some red wines, that there are other red wines out there that won't give you a headache. However, it may be painful figuring out which ones.

Those of us who get headaches from white wine, and won’t admit to over consumption, are likely to blame our headache on sulfites. However, only about one percent of the population is actually allergic to sulfites, and the usual reaction to sulfites is difficulty breathing rather than headache. It's much more likely that you are allergic to something in the wine's terroir (or that you over indulged).