Here is an interesting e-mail I received recently from one of my customers ( a Doctor) pertaining to Sulphites, and wine. This one is a must read for all of you who insist, when purchasing a wine that “I am allergic to Sulphites.” You know who you are. You’re most likely the one who goes home from the wine shop with an over-priced mediocre bottle that say’s “No added Sulfites.” There are options my friend. Here is one:
I want to share something I learned in Chile’s Maipo (My-e-po) Valley from a third generation Spanish vintner.
For years people have complained that sulphites in red wine causes them headaches so they drink whites.
I learned that sulphites aren’t the problem. Researchers at University of California invented a device to detect the chemicals in red wine that give some people headaches and others allergic-like reactions … and it’s not sulphites they’re measuring.
Vintners add sulphites to wine kill bacteria that survive the bottling process. Killing the bacteria saves the wine from turning to vinegar by stopping oxidation. The amount of sulphites that can be added to wine is regulated both nationally and internationally and the regulations allow only incredibly low amounts. To kill the bacteria and prevent oxidation – the sulphites are antioxidants. Preventing oxidation gives the wine shelf life.
The California researchers believe the culprit that causes headaches and allergy-like reactions are biogenic amines, such as tyramine and especially histamine. These ‘—amines’, are naturally produced chemicals in the human body that create an inflammatory effect in order to help our immune system deal with and expel foreign bodies like dust and allergens. Unfortunately, ‘—amines’, are also a natural product found in red wine. (‘—amines are also found in whites and sweet wine but the parts per million are significantly lower than found in red wine. Grapes concentrate ‘—amines’ in their skin. Grape skin is removed quickly from whites and sweets or else they become reds ….). You can make white wine from red grapes if the grape skins are quickly removed. You can make red wine (rose) from white grapes if the skins are left in.
When a big swallow of red wine, loaded with ‘—amines’, is dumped into an otherwise perfectly healthy but sensitive to ‘—amine’ body …. Presto … Chango …. Symptoms similar to an allergic reaction occurs, e.g., runny nose, itching, watery eyes, sneezing and often a headache in advance of nausea and vomiting in the worst cases.
Since red wine is often taken with food, the combination of an ‘—amine’ laden glass or two of red … with food like salads with vinegar dressing (more ‘—-amines), dried fruit (more ‘—-amines), cheeses (more ‘—-amines), pickles (more ‘—-amines), hot dogs (more ‘—-amines), seasoned olives (more ‘—-amines), cured meats, ham, cured smoked turkey breast, salami (more ‘—-amines), results in a sensitive person sent on the way to the emergency room!
Unfortunately, for people with allergies or colds, the body has an elevated the level of natural histamine in the system to fight of the illness. Adding more histamine from an external sources such as food or wine can easily push people directly from drinking a glass of wine to having a severe headache or worse. Histamines are also known to cause high blood pressure, heart palpitations and elevated adrenaline in addition to everything else we’ve covered.
So how does one combat all that is troublesome with ‘—amines’? Easy … the same way the vintner combats oxidation …. with an antioxidant ….you combat ‘—amines’ with an anti-amine, or specifically an antihistamine.
Antihistamines prevent histamines from attaching to your cells and causing discomfort. It works in the part of your brain that controls nausea and vomiting as in seasickness and motion sickness. The brand name antihistamine we know to control motion sickness is Dramamine.
The Berkeley researchers are building a lean mean ‘—amine’ machine that is the size of a PDA. The idea is that people can insert a drop of the wine they are drinking in the top and read the wine’s ‘—amine’ level before imbibing. The Cal team went so far as to suggest that winemakers might include the ‘—- amine’ level on the label.
The next time you head off to dinner or fire up a Cohiba with a vintage port and someone … “I’d love to join you but …. ‘red wine gives me a headache” …..
Hand them a Benadryl or a Dramamine …. or better still …. recommend the only instant solution, Astelin, a prescription nasal spray antihistamine that will work between the time the cork is pulled and the first sip is taken.
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