Red, Red Wine…goes to my head…

We all know how the song goes but why do some people get headaches from red wine and others do not?   Some say it’s from the tannins in the wine.  Tannins come from the skins and the seeds and are included in the fermentation process when making red wine.  The skins are need in the fermentation process to give red wine its great colour.  Tannin also gives you the dry feeling in your mouth (think of sucking on a tea bag…uggh!).  Tannins can also come from the oak barrel the wine was aged in too.  But recently I’ve heard and read that it is also caused from the histamines in the wine.  Histamines are contained in grape skins and as I mentioned early, the skins are fermented with the juice therefore adding histamines to the wine.  Therefore, taking an anti-histamine before having a glass of red wine may prevent that red wine headache and flushed face.  To read more on the subject go to: http://www.wineintro.com/glossary/h/histamines.html 

 
They also have a great article on tannins, wine and migraine headaches: http://www.wineintro.com/glossary/t/tannins.html