Allergy to wines is a real problem for some people.
Some people seem to be allergic to all types of wine, where as others seem to have reactions to very specific types of wine.
Some are allergic to alcohol but I am referring to people who can drink alcohol but not wine, or certain types of wines.
Wine Allergy Research is the Purpose of this Article
Have you tried organic wines, and have you noticed a difference?
Do you have other known allergies, or reactions to other types of food?
Please leave your comments, and include:
1) The type of reaction you get
2) A description of the wine
3) Other foods that cause any kind of an allergic reaction
4) Anything else you think might help
Over time, the information collected here will become very valuable to you and everyone else investigating their wine allergy.
I thought this comment by Kath was interesting and might help others:
The reaction I had to drinking wine – migraine like symptoms and stomach upset (the first time it happened I thought it was food poisoning). I get the same reaction with lemons. Since then I’ve done some research and discovered that the EU does not allow citric acid to be used as an acidifier in wines produced within the EU. As I knew for sure that I had this reaction after drinking Californian wine I bought a bottle of Spanish Rioja and I was fine drinking this and any other wines produced in Europe.
Related Article: wine allergy
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
Possible Wine Allergy!
This is not being clever but since the late 70’s have been drinking between one and two bottles of red wine a night with very varying feelings – sometimes one glass is far too much and other times could like more.
In the last six months I have noticed that my tounge feels swollen in my mouth and I think its the wine.
I usually drink from boxes of wine and keep the bottles for dinner parties etc.
I am wondering if one can develop an allergy later in life – I am now 60.
Is it posiible there is now some sort of additives in boxes of wine.
Could it be a certain type of grape.
I really like my wine and have grave misgivings that its the wine that is causing problems.
I have stopped drinking wine for a couple of weeks and it appears to relieve the problem and recently had a glass and within minutes my tounge seemed to be too big for my mouth.
I do have health issues and do take medication.
Has anyone got any similar happenings.
Allergies later in life possibe, also health problems
It is possible to develop allergies later in life, or for existing ones to become worse.
Just because you have a reaction to food or alcohol, does not necessarily make it an allergy.
It could be that alcohol interacts with your other health problems. I must day, one to two bottles per night is rather a lot of wine. I’m sure that much wine all at once hasn’t done you any good over the years.
Instant Back Pain/Spasm from Alcohol
I have always been allergic to alcohol but the reaction was losing my voice due to the vocal chords swelling. Now when I drink, within 10 minutes of sipping alcohol my middle back goes into one big very painful muscle spasm that lasts for 20 minutes. After that I can drink as much as I like and it doesn’t come back. Needless to say I choose not to drink. I just find it very curious and wondered if anyone else has the same reaction.
Wine and sleepless nights dehydrated and feeling sick
Until recently I had no problem drinking 2 or 3 glasses of wine when out at dinner. However over the past month after having anything between 1 and 3 glasses of wine in the evening with dinner, I will wake up in the middle of the night unpleasantly dehydrated and very awake. No matter how much water I drink, I don’t feel refreshed. I then get a really bad headache.
I have a very bad gluten and wheat allergy, but I have been diagnosed with this for over 10 years.
What could it be? I mainly drink white wine and often rose in the summer, and I’m getting the same reaction to both the past month.
Wine/gluten allergy
I deffinately have a gluten allergy however celiac test was negative…
I get diarrhea from even the smallest amounts of gluten. Since finding this allergy I’ve noticed I can’t drink alcohol either. Even white wine cooked in home made bearnaise sauce gave me diarrhea! I seem to be ok with vinegarettes though. I never used to have this problem. Now I can’t even have 1mouthfull of red or white wine without getting diarrhea! I can generally feel a burning sensation inside straight after a sip and then 1-2 hrs later it starts coming through and I can be on the toilet for hours after that. It is painful!
Crazy from Rose Wine
I have noticed on a few occations that only 1 – 2 small glasses of rose wine can transform me into a monster. I can not remember what I say or do all I know is I have to be somewhere on my own as I hurt my hubby emotionally and nothing and none can stop me. My brain is ponding, I can hardly descripe the feeling. I can drink red or white without these effects, but rose is dangerous for me. It took me a while to figure out it could be the rose wine, always thought I get drunk very quick. I can sip 3 – 4 glasses of white on a nice evening and have no reaction. I get a bit tipsy, but nothing like from the rose. I wake up the next morning feeling terribly hangover with strong headaches and still feeling slightly drunk even half through the day. I stay away from it…I have no idea what causes it. Some people told me it could be the sugar content, but then I can drink slightly sweeter whites.
wine
I’ve recently noticed that if I drink Rose wine, then my stomach starts to gurgle then I get bad diarohhea. I don’t get any type of stomach pain or any other symptom. Two nights ago I was out with friends and drank white wine….. and it happened again. I’m not allergic to anything and I never drink on an empty stomach.
Reaction to alcohol
I am having immediate reactions to alcohol. My sinus become inflamed and I immediately loose my sense of taste and smell. My cheeks become flushed and a hot flash passes over me. My lungs feel tightened, like I’m having an asthma attack. I guess I’ll go back to the allergist to be tested again. I never had the food allergy tests.
alcohol allergy?
I’ve always had aversion to alcohol since I usually felt pretty lousy after drinking even a few sips of beer and wine, but last night I slowly drank a glass of white wine (this is the most i’ve ever drank of wine before) and had a very obvious reaction. My face got beet-red, I was very dizzy, drunk-like feeling instantly and my face got numb and i got extremely sleepy and disoriented with a sinus headache and congestion. It was almost like a wave of flu-like symptoms, my face was burning hot but my body was freezing. In the past I had this same reaction to hot sake, an almost immediate flu-like sickness and disorientation. (also felt this way to excessing amounts of MSG in food, but I don’t’ know if that is related) I have noticed that rum-based drinks do not bother me the same way. I am a definite lightweight so rum makes me tipsy very quickly but those immediate flu-like symptoms are not present with rum.
I’ve learned that my Grandmother had similar red-faced and alcohol aversion issues and I had a great Aunt who passed from esophageal cancer. Any ideas on what my problem is would be appreciated!!
alcohol allergy
Hi. I feel for you. I have the same and what you are allergic to is simply Brewers Yeast. It is used in all alcoholic beverages so stay away from it. Also be aware of Balsamic Vinegrate. Same thing
I am 35 and I just recently
I am 35 and I just recently found out I have barrett’s esophagus and for years if i ever drank wine i would instantly turn into the life of the party…”my face is numb…oop, there goes my chin, my legs, etc” in some cases i could barely brush my teeth normally for days because it hurt to put my teeth together. I even asked my dentist and we discussed a possible alcohol allergy. I am a light-weight as well and could never drink much without feeling some effect immediately. My son just got tested today and found he has a grape allergy along with mold and candida, among other things. I am also prone to yeast infections and had them on my chest while nursing my 2 kids. I am now definitely calling to get allergy tested for grape, mold and yeast. The Barretts came out of nowhere last July and if I can stop the progression of it before it turns into esopahgeal cancer I will do anything. Check into why your Aunt died from E. Cancer, did she have heartburn? . Good luck!
Itching
I have experienced extremely itchy feet when drinking some red wines, the same occurs on occasion when eating Chinese food. The itching is always confined to my feet.
I have the same issue- the bottoms of my feet itch so badly when i drink white wine- I can’t even drink red from the horrible burning in my stomach, so i don’t but the white makes me want to teat the bottoms of my feet off scratching!!! So strange!!!
White wine – ? reaction
The reason for writing at 1240pm is that I am unable to sleep because I am itchy all over! I cannot see any hives.
The only connection I can make, is that I had a glass and a half of a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc tonight – I generally only drink a small amount of red, and this is all we had!
I have had this itching in the past, but not for a long time, it generally comes on when I am in bed and I am warm and then it starts! Thats it then, I have to get up, sometimes I take a shower as it occasionally helps, and I also take an anti-histimine just in case it was a reaction. I thought I’d look it up on the computer tonight, and found this site, which is when I thought I’d write, I have never thought it would possibly be connected to the wine.
I not a “sensitive” person, and never react to food or any other drinks.
Wine Allergy
I just recently started drinking wine again after not drinking for 5 years. I am breaking out in very ichy hives. They can manifest in different places such as palms of hands, arms and feet. Do you think that it could be wine?
Wine Allergy
Hi Mary,
Sorry to hear about the hives.
Hope it’s not the wine, but it could be.
The only way to know for sure is to stop drinking wine for a while and see if it clears up.
After it clears up, if drinking wine brings it back, then you’ll have bad news about drinking wine.
Hope it clears up and doesn’t come back.
HIVES!!!! I used to drink only whiskey and beer but this gave me heart palpitations (I’m female and 67) and terrible hangovers. So I decided to cut down and changed to white wine, which I had never cared for before, which got me nice and blotto but without the next-day blues or palpitations.
Started this about 6 months ago, with no ill-effect, drinking Sutter Home Savignon Blanc. Then I started drinking Yellow Tail Australian Pinot Grigio because I liked the little sparkle it seems to have (I adore champagne). After 3 or 4 bottles of this over a couple of weeks, I began to notice flu-like symptoms as mentioned in various of these posts – and it was always on a night when I’d had wine.
Then last Saturday, after downing a bottle of Yellow Tail, I started to itch and found HUGE and very painful hives all up my inner thighs from my knees, over my buttocks and back and on the backs of my arms. Went to ER and got some relief but no explanation.
Tried thinking of ANYTHING new in my diet or hygiene and all I could come up with was wine and Selsun Blue shampoo. Looks like I can still use the shampoo.
I did not know wine had sulfates – I am allergic to sulfa drugs, so I am probably allergic to sulfates, too – possibly the Australian wine has more of them than the US SUtter Home?
Wine and Gluten Allergies
I have been cutting glutens out of my diet as I have developed a BAD rash and itch on legs mid section arms and back…cutting out glutens seems to be working..my itching has greatly declined. So to celebrate I poured a glass of Merlot and within 15 mins I started to itch like crazy!! I have NEVER been allergic to wine before but then I wasn’t allergic to Glutens either. I am having a hard time finding information on wine causing this type (ITCHING) of allergic reation. I of course dumped the wine and will not drink red wine again….(I’ll try white wine which I prefer anyway…luckily) but I am still curious as to what in the wine could cause such severe itching.
Wine and gluten – Multiple allergies likely
Hi Linda,
Well, that’s no fun – having a problem with gluten and wine!
Few people have just one allergy, so it could well be that you’ve developed multiple allergies.
It is also possible that the gluten allergy masked the symptoms to the wine.
I hope it isn’t the yeast that is causing the trouble – that is common between wine and bread, forming a kind of link (almost) with gluten – if you see what I mean.
Give wine a good long rest (or red wine, if you fine you’re OK with white) and then you might see what happens in a few months or a year or two – if you dare.
Good luck!
do i have an allergy to red wine?
i used to drink loads when i was younger but decided to stop drinking completely for about 3 years. Then i really started to fancy a glass of wine in the evening with my wife but started being really ill the next day. id wake up feeling like i had the flu and as soon as i sat up out of bed i wanted to throw up and the room would spin, this would carry on till about 3ish in the afternoon then id start to come to, after a while we decided that it must be the wine so i stopped having it and didn t have a problem again, someone said that i could have an allergy to the suphites in the wine but im not sure what it is. any ideas?
Wine allergy link
Please see the related article wine allergy.
I’ve added the link to the main article above – forgot to add the cross reference, thanks for reminding me!
wine allergy
when I drink any kind of wine (including organic ones) I get achy joints and feel itchy (no hives). I can drink Sake and other alcoholic drinks (including beer) without these symptoms.
Brain fog, migraines, but not with mead?
I stopped drinking red wines years ago, as they are a migraine trigger for me. I recently tried some honey wine – actually mead – and to my surprise, had NO adverse reactions at all. Typically after 1 or 2 glasses of wine (any grape based wine) I have blurred vision, slurred speech, difficulty following a conversation, nausea, headache, etc. I always thought this was it meant to be “drunk”. Yet I can drink an entire bottle of mead with none of those issues and wake up fine in the morning. The alcohol content is the same, so apparently what affects me in wine made with grapes is not the alcohol. I’m still trying to figure this out…..
How about spirits?
Not that I recommend drinking excessively but …
Have you tried spirits/mixed drinks?
red & white don’t mix
I have gone to many wine tastings and wine dinners and have learned that if I drink both red and white wine at the tasting, I become violently ill the next morning. I can drink many glasses of white, or many glasses of red, but it only happens when I mix the two. I am fine after the tasting and even take a breathalyzer immediately afterword and usually blow a 0 or very close to it. The next morning (or sometimes in the night) I wake up with diarrhea, stomach cramps, and nausea. I also occasionally drink martinis after wine with no side effects. What could be causing this???
I have no known allergies to food, just to penicillin and sulfa drugs.
If you are allergic to sulfa drugs then you are allergic to sulphites which are found abundantly in wine — especially non-organic ones. Sulphites occur naturally in organic wine production, but in non-organic wine production synthetic sulphites are added to preserve the wine and give it consistency. If you drink organic wines you will likely have either fewer symptoms, or none at all.
If I am allergic to yeast can I drink wine? What can I drink?
I wish to know if my yeast allergy prevents me from drinking wine. If so what can I drink.
Depending …
Most would recommend staying away from wine completely in the case of a yeast allergy.
A true yeast allergy would put such a person in an impossible situation. There is yeast absolutely everywhere!
You may be able to have some wine, depeinding on how sensitive you are to yeast.
If you are new to managing your yeast allergy, avoid wine.
If you’ve been successfully managing it for a while, try a sip of wine and see how you are. Next time try a little more.
This way you’ll find out if wine works for you or not.
Do not attempt this if yeast causes serious problems for you.
wine allergy ?
I am quite definitely allergic to wheat (but not coeliac) and I can be sensitive to yeast (vinegars, sugar in products etc). My allergy comes out in the form of swollen eyes, skins rashes and itching. However, I’ve noticed that sometimes (within an hour or so) after drinking wine I become very sniffly – allergic rhinitis ? The next morning I wake up with a blocked nose, a bit like I’ve got a cold (which I don’t). I realise there is yeast in wine but drinking wine never brings on any of my “usual” symptoms. At the moment I’m not sure if it’s white wine or red or both that can cause this problem – I’ve only just realised (through internet searches) that allergic rhinitis can indicate a wine allergy (my wheat allergy does not cause this). I drank some white wine last night and when I went to bed I was “full of the cold” and am still that way this morning – even though I do not have a cold. I will track it and see if red wine causes the same problem.
Yeast and Wheat allergy symptoms
Thanks for the description, Kaz.
Symptoms are very individualistic. There could be someone else out there who gets allergic rhinitis from eating wheat, but not from drinking wine.
It is very useful to track your own symptoms and find out what allergens cause those symptoms for you.
Should be interesting to hear if red wine causes the same symptoms for you. If not, then we have to wonder: what is the difference between red wine and white wine (in terms of allergens)?
Im searching this very post right now because I get the same thing. I love wine, white wine. But depending on how much of it I drink; my hangovers vary from allergic rhinitis(intense sneezing.) to full blown nausea. But too much beer or too much white wine get me sniffly.
Lower Back Pain/Hot Flashes
Hi! I am NOT a big drinker at all, and I recently have started drinking some very sweet Red Wine. I notice within minutes after drinking my first sip I get really strong lower back pain and hot flashes. I have had issues with drinking in the past, I remember my first strawberry daiquiri in my early 20’s and it giving me strong chest pains and shooting pains down my arm. I quit drinking after that episode and only drank an occasional beer. I have recently started having mixed drinks like Malibu and Pineapple Juice, with no effects except the hot flashes. The Red Wine is delicious, but I must say, not worth this back pain it gives me!! Wondering if I have some sort of allergy to certain kinds of alcohol and wine?
Alcohol allergy likely
It sounds like you may be allergic to alcohol, Shelly.
Not some kinds of alcohol. There is only one type (that we can drink, and many more that are deadly poison).
It is possible, likely in fact, that you have other allergies besides, and that drinking alcohol makes the other allergies worse.
Or your body may not metabolize alcohol well, which is not the same as an allergy.
From your description, it doesn’t sound like drinking is the best choice for you, as much as I hate to say it!
I too experience excruciating pain when I drink strawberry daiquiris’. It begins about a half an hour after the first drink and last about ten or fifteen minutes. It first began when I had a strawberry daiquiri in a restaurant. My stomach, chest, and especially upper back and posterior shoulders ache very badly, sometimes with a severe headache when I drink them. This time I picked up some frozen Bacardi SD mix at the grocery store and it happened again after I completly forgot about my experience at the restaurant. Ow! I will not forget again. I do not experience this kind of reaction from any other kind of alcoholic beverage. I really think this is some kind of allergic reaction to something in the SD mix.
It would be interesting to know what’s in the SD mix. If you happen to remember, maybe you could make a note of it next time you’re shopping.
I had a bad reaction at Applebees when I drank a Mango Daiguiri. Then the other night I drank a Strawberry DAQ at my sisters house. Within 10 minutes my chest was tight and achey, clear into my shoulders and up my neck, it was Mr. Bostons mix she used. I also start yawning continuously, lack of oxygen?? It takes about an half hour and the pain start to subside and then I am ok. We read the ingredients, not sure which is the culprit No more SD for me
If you have the chance, maybe you could type out the ingredients. Other people may notice patterns with their allergies, and that will help everyone!
Thanks!
lower back pain with alcohol
Hey there,
You are the only other person in my 5 years of experience immediate lower back pain when drinking that I have ever heard of! I’m desperate to figure this out, though I am guessing I have an allergic reaction. Have you figured anything out? I’m age 30, and have lived with this since age 25. I rarely drink b/c of the pain it causes.
Sincerely,
Sarah
If I drink any wine other
If I drink any wine other than organic I get chronic back pains and really snotty full of mucus. I saw a homeopath who told me I had allergy to sulphites added to cheap wines
Dear Sarah
My boyfriend thought it was hilarious that I got lower back pain the next day after drinking even a very little red wine. I am thankful to know that I am not the only one with this peculiar symptom. It also confirms for me that red wine and alcohol in general is a no no for me.
Regards
Avril
I’ve always been a light drinker but one day 2 years ago I experienced the same back pain after a drink at a restuarant. Yes it was a strawberry Daq as well. The pain started 20 mins after I finished my drink and lasted about 15-20mins. Excruciating upper and lower back pain, felt like someone was stomping on my ribs and ribbing my back out.
This same pain happens when I consume a smirnoff, or wine coolers, and it happend again yesterday when we decided to buy a bottle of Moscato D’asti. I had only taken about 3 or 4 sips and the pain came on suddenly.
**this only happens with the above drinks, daquiries, wine coolers, smirnoff etc, I am able to drink most other drinks compeletly fine**
I’m not sure if this is an allergy but I’m also looking for anwers. As the pain lasts only a few agonizing mins but I’m scared of picking up a drink now. Not worth it.
I am a social drinker. My usual is Captain Morgan & Coke. I feel fine during and the next day. I don’t like beer, so sometomes I’ll opt for a wine cooler (Seagrams or whatever is available ). Well I end up with an excruciating backache that lasts 10-15 minutes. My husband thinks it’s all in my head. If you come to some sort of reasoning for this, I’d greatly appreciate the answer. Thanks & best of luck to everyone here!
White wine alergy
Whenever I drink White wine I get very drunk very fast, after only one or two glasses, I become her dizzy and disoriented and feel sick and tired. The next day I have a really bad hangover with a migraine. I can drink other alcohol and red wine and nothing affects me like this! Also I haven’t noticed a problem with champagne and sparkling wine doesn’t seem to affect me as badly. I always convince myself I’m imagining it but when I drink it I always get the same reaction. It is so good to read people on here have the same reaction and I might be right in thinking I have an allergy.
white wine and coeliac disease
I have the same bad experience with white wine. I am a coeliac so wine and spirits are the only options.
Recently I drank three glasses of white wine on a empty stomach at a party, became drunk very quickly and passed out. From what i have read gut leakage can be a problem with coeliacs. The possibility that the wine is passing into the blood stream without passing through the digestive systems.
Are you cutting out gluten?
If you have eliminated all gluten from your diet, then your gut should have healed, and the gut leakage problem should not be a problem.
In any case, alcohol is absorbed through the skin, so even with a perfectly healed gut, you’ll absorb alcohol through your stomach.
Maybe you are more sensitive to alcohol than you used to be.
As you know, drinking on an empty stomach is not a good idea. Don’t do that next time!
white wine and coeliac disease
Any further information worth sharing in regard to the digestive system and blood stream on this subject?
TRUST ME You ARE NOT IMAGINING this! It took me many years to realize that the sulfites are absolutely evil in white wine and the cheaper the wine the worse it gets. The white grape is more fragile as a result they add more sulfites to preserve it. Red grape wine has a natural quality of preservation. AND Sorry to say but US wines I (I avoid them like the plaque) usually have many more sulfites – I get sick from their red wine as well – try drinking only wine from France and Italy (they know their product for centuries) and you will not suffer any ill effects – I too can drink champagne w/o any side effects (unless very cheap) and the best again is from France.
Thanks for sharing the quality angle on wines. Hopefully that will help lots of people to enjoy wine without getting sick.
I have the same reaction to American wines. Apparently, European, at least Italian and French, do not have added sulfites. I usually have no reaction to them. I will not drink an American wine not even the ones that are “organic”. And, yes , I am an American, even with a name like Merci.
It took me a long time to determine that I was allergic to red Cabernet wines. Red in the face, itchiness all over and extreme sleepiness. For a few years I could drink merlots, pinots and shiraz but now I get the same symptoms but with slightly lesser effects from those wines and heavier effects from all other wines – red and white. Sometimes I can manage a pinot if I take an antihistamine first. The weird thing is – we went to Italy last year and I was quite apprehensive about all the wine we would be consuming. I drank a half glass the first day and felt no effect. I drank a full glass at noon the next day with no effect so I had two glasses at dinner and two more afterward – no effect. I drank an average of six glasses of wine a day for the rest of our three week trip. Why can I drink in Italy but not in Canada or the US?
Hi
It can be that you are allergic to white grapes. Most champagnes are made from the inside or darker grape varieties.
Try Pinot Grigio – it’s the only white wine I can drink without it having a serious reaction.
Rose wines are ok but check the grapes used…
Try a blancs de noir champagne – its a dark grape and very nice x
I am only able to drink pinot grigio too without getting really bad headaches a red face but worst of all unbearable sinus pain the following day. Trouble is I love a glass of wine with friends at the end of a long week – but what is it doing to my sinuses?
Stinging and tightness in cheeks
Hi, not sure if i have an allergy of rose wine or chinese takeaway i get a stinging and tightness in cheeks and lower jaw. This is the second time this has happened. First time i had a glass of white wine which was watered down and then the second time i had a glass of rose wine which i had no pain. Then after eating a chinese takeaway the pain was unbearable. I then sipped on the wine and have continued to get the pain. Arghhhh!!!
For the last six-eight months, I have been having what I believe is an allergic reaction where my face swells all around my eyes and a bit in my cheeks and around my mouth. I believe it is related to some wines–although the problem can be triggered by something else and wine often exacerbates the problem. I have found a similar issue to one writer below–cheap wine, I hadn’t had any bad reaction for months, and then yesterday I had dim sum for a late lunch…and by the time I got home several hours later, I was starting to swell up. I took an allergy pill and it wasn’t too bad, but I had a glass of rose wine with a light dinner and by the time I woke up this morning, my face was really swollen. I’m now convinced it is some wine: cheap, American wine; wines with a high alcohol content, and white wines aged in American oak. European wines do no give me the same reaction.
i m having d same problem n m really concerned wid it …….wenevr i m havn beer my face gets swollen v.much ……visited several doctors but no one could solve the problem ……..if u have any clue ………..plzzzzz let me knw