Visiting my best friend over the long weekend, she asked me: What actually makes a bad wine to give you headaches? And I reflected: We all refer to wines that are really bad (usually also very cheap) lovingly calling them "Chateau Migraine" - but what are the actual components that cause the headaches? What is that with the infamous "RWH" ("Red Wine Headache")?
I went on a quest to find out:
TANNINS: Not all, but some people react badly to tannins, which are components in grape seeds, skins and stems and thus in all red wines.
HISTAMINES: Aged food and drink can cause the release of histamines in some bodies. Histamines are chemicals released when having an allergic reaction.
SUGAR: Alcohol and sugar are a powerful combination for a headache. Dessert wines and sweet Rieslings have a lot of sugar. And - here we are - cheaper wines tend to have more sugar as mass producers add sugar during fermentation to boost the alcohol to make the wines taste better.
Cures against headaches: Rule #1 - stay hydrated. So make sure that you drink plenty of water when drinking wine (or any alcohol for that matter), e.g. 1 glass water per 1 glass wine seems to be the informal norm. It certainly helps with the sugars, but if your body is susceptible to tannins or releases histamines completely avoiding red/sweet wine and/or taking histamine blocker seems to be the only cure (obviously after consulting your doctor).
Sources:
http://vinepair.com/wine-101/wine-and-headaches/
http://guides.wsj.com/wine/wine-tips-and-tricks/why-do-i-get-headaches-from-wine/
http://winefolly.com/tutorial/wine-headache/
Thanks for this post Hanna. I think one other possibility is sulfur! Sulfur is used in almost all wines to ensure that wine does not oxidize too quickly, and cheaper wines often have higher amounts. Some of my friends swear by "sans soufre" (without sulfur) wines to avoid the headache :)
ReplyDelete