Mythbusters: What Actually Causes Wine Headaches (It’s Not Sulfites)

Ep 141

What if the most common belief about wine headaches is actually one of the biggest myths in the entire wine world?

This is the first episode in a new mini series where I unpack some of the biggest wine myths and separate fact from fiction. In this episode, I’m breaking down the long-standing assumption that sulfites in wine cause headaches and uncover why this claim doesn’t hold up. You’ll learn where the belief started, why the “contains sulfites” label leads so many people astray, and what science says about sulfite sensitivity.

I also get into the real reasons you might be getting headaches from wine, including factors most drinkers never think about. Plus, I dive into how sulfites naturally form during winemaking, why winemakers add them, and how they help protect wine from oxidation and bacterial spoilage. As well as the surprising truth about sulfite levels in wine compared to foods like dried apricots and frozen potatoes.

If you’ve ever blamed sulfites for a headache, felt confused about natural or organic wines, or wondered what’s actually causing reactions when you drink wine, this episode is for you!

Thank you to the following brands for sponsoring this podcast:

• Bon Chocolats: Go to www.bonchocolats.com and use code CORKANDFIZZ10 for 10% off your order!
• Pour Memory: Use code CORKANDFIZZ for 15% off your purchase at pourmemory.com. I’d recommend a starter kit that includes a journal and 24 or 48 labels. Don’t forget to download the Pour Memory iOS app to track your bottles digitally too.

Episode Highlights:

• Why sulfites appear on wine labels
  
  
• How rare true sulfite sensitivities actually are
  
  
• Why all wines naturally contain sulfites
  
  
• What sulfites do in winemaking (oxidation + bacteria control)
  
  
• Foods with far higher sulfite levels than wine
  
  
• Why red wines often have fewer sulfites than white wines
  
  
• Real reasons people get wine headaches
  
  
• How tannins, sugar, alcohol, and histamines play a role
  
  
• Truth about natural, organic, and “clean” wine claims
  
  
• Why natural and organic wines still contain sulfites

Transcript

0:09

Interested in learning about wine but not sure where to start? You're in the right place. Welcome to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine Podcast. I'm your host, Hayley Bohlman, and I'm so glad you're here. I'm a wine enthusiast turned wine educator and founder of the Seattle based wine tasting business, Corporate Cork and Fizz. It is my goal to build your confidence in wine by making it approachable and lots of fun. You can expect to learn everything from how to describe your favorite wine to what to pair with dinner tonight, and so much more. Whether you're a casual wine sipper or a total cork dork like myself, this podcast is for you. So grab yourself a glass and let's dive in foreign. Welcome back to the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine podcast. Now, I know you could be listening to this episode at any time. These are always up, but if you're listening to them live as they come out. In case you're curious what's going on in my life behind the scenes right now as I record this episode, I am currently six months pregnant, preparing to become a mom for the first time, and I'm planning to take a maternity leave a bit before and after baby arrives. But I want to keep this podcast going so I am recording a bunch of episodes in advance so that you never have to miss a week. Now, with recording lots of episodes at once, I wanted to do a fun miniseries, both to make my life a little easier and to just really hit on a topic that I think people would enjoy. And so one of my favorite speed round questions that I've been asking guests on this show lately is what wine myth bugs you the most? And I really enjoyed a lot of their answers. Plus, I feel like it's these wine myths that often get asked the most at either my wine tastings or on social media. So I decided, let's do a miniseries on it. Let's bust some myths. So, without further ado, welcome to my first episode of mythbusters miniseries where we debunk wine myths new and old and make sure to give you the facts, plus maybe a couple opinions. But this is my podcast. Okay, you're gonna get a couple of my opinions, but I will. I'll differentiate when they're. I'll let you know when it's fact versus what what I think. And today we're starting with one of the biggest myths of them all, and that is that sulfites in wine cause headaches. Oh, and just a quick heads up, these episodes may be a Bit shorter than normal. But if you're missing hearing my voice and you want to, you wanna listen to this voice even more, you can always check out my backlog. I've got. This is episode 141. So there are 140 other episodes that you can listen to if you are someone who's listened to all of them. Thank you so much. I can't even believe there are people that have listened to all 140 of these episodes. You are amazing. If you haven't heard them yet, go back and find one. You could start at the beginning or just pick one out that you haven't listened to yet. Okay, let's dive into that myth. Okay, so the myth is that sulfites in wine cause headaches. And before I get into the facts, I was honestly curious myself. Why do people believe this? And so, from what I can tell, the main reason is because you see on a bottle of wine that it says contains sulfites. This is actually a requirement from the federal government. Only in the United States, along with Australia, that that is actually required. So in Europe, they're not required to do this, but at least in the U.S. the federal government requires bottles to carry a sulfite statement. If the wine contains even just 10 parts per million of sulfites, which is an incredibly small amount, we'll dive into a little bit more and you'll understand what that is later. And so the reason that the federal government requires this is that some folks do have a true allergy to sulfites and to sulfur dioxide. So that is why the labels are required to say that. However, this is a very small subset of people. According to WebMD, only 1% of the population has a true sulfite sensitivity. If you have asthma, you are at greater risk. But even then, just one to two and a half percent of asthmatics have sensitivity to sulfites. So we are putting this on the label to let people know that, but that it's highly unlikely that you have an allergy to sulfites. The thing is, we don't really put in the wine world, we don't put much more else on the label, right? So if you're getting a headache and you're drinking wine, you're looking at the label, trying to figure out what is it in here that's causing this. It's going to be really easy to blame sulfites because the bottle has to say it. So it must cause a problem of some kind. There's also this kind of belief in the general population that Sulfites are more of an industrial intervention, or they're an additive that's not necessary and makes wine more commercial or more processed. Just a quick reminder. If you are not on my mailing list yet, what are you waiting for? I would love for you to join. When you do, you'll get a free shopping guide that has 15 of my favorite wines under $15. Head to corkandfizz.com, scroll down to the bottom, and there'll be a little section where you can join the mailing list. I send out a weekly newsletter filled with wine tips, recommendations, special offers, and so much more. Now, let's get back to the show. But now, now that we understand why we believe this, let's get into the facts about sulfites in wine. And here's something that might just blow your mind. Sulfites naturally occur in wine. So what does that mean? That means all wines contain sulfur sulfites. Did you get that? I'll say it again. All wines contain sulfites. So if you can drink some wines, no headache. Other wines give you a headache, it is very unlikely that it's a sulfite. They all contain it. Elemental sulfur occurs naturally and is found in every cell of the human body. And sulfur also presents in sulfites, which are these inorganic salts that develop naturally during fermentation of the wine. Now, of course, there is more than just the naturally occurring sulfites in the wine. Many times, winemakers choose to add additional sulfur dioxide to keep the wine fresh. There are two main things that they are doing by adding the sulfur dioxide. The first is to prevent oxidation. The second is to limit bacterial growth. And because I'm a nerd, you know, we're going to dive deeper into how the heck it does that, right? So first, preventing oxidation. How does sulfur dioxide help with that? Oxidation essentially will make a wine appear brown. It can also affect the flavors of the wine. It can make it smell like vinegar or have it lose its primary kind of fruit aromas. And so by adding sulfur dioxide, that sulfur dioxide reacts with and binds with the oxygen to prevent it from interacting with the wine. Now, the story on how it helps limit bacterial growth, I think is super cool. Again, I'm a total wine nerd. So you might just be like, okay, Hayley, calm down, but you're listening to this. I'm assuming you're a little bit of a winner, too. So during fermentation, remember, if you've ever heard me talk about how fermentation works, we always think of it as Pac man, which Represents the yeast and those little dots as sugar. And that, you know, sugar loving yeast, Pac man goes around and eats all the sugar that it can find in the grape juice and it converts that sugar to alcohol. This, the thing is this Pac man, this little yellow Pac man that represents our yeast, isn't the only microbe that's fighting for the sugar. So now I'm gonna keep going with my analogy. Let's see if it keeps, if it keeps working. But there is actually bacteria as well that wants to feed on the sugar. So these are like, let's say these are the ghosts, you know, they're going around kind of after the, after Pac man. But really they want all the sugar. They want to eat that sugar before Pac man dies. And so these bacteria can make the wine smell like nail polish remover or vineg. And so the winemaker wants to remove those as well. And actually Pac man or the yeast, they want to prevent the bacteria from eating too. They want the sugar for themselves. And so to try and prevent this, the yeast will release their own sulfites to try to thwart the bacteria and prevent them from eating their sugar. Of course, this is the naturally produced sulfite. So the yeast does it themselves. Now, if the yeast can't produce enough sulfites to keep the bacteria at bay, if they start taking over, a winemaker might add a little sulfur dioxide to help the yeast keep the bacteria away and get all the sugar for themselves. I hope that made sense. I was having a little too much fun with it. So now that we know what sulfur dioxide is used for. And the thing is, it can be added, it's frequently added as a liquid solution to wine, but it can also be added as a gas or a solid. The thing is, if we are talking about adding sulfur dioxide to things that we eat, wine is not at the top of the list. There are so many other foods that you've probably never gotten a headache from that have a large amount of sulfur dioxide or sulfites. Dried apricots are one of the biggest culprits. So if you are a fan of dried apricots or you've ever had them and not gotten a headache. And honestly, any dried fruit where they're still like bright in color, remember, cause this, the sulfites prevent oxidation so they keep it a nice color instead of the fruit turning brown. Dried apricots can contain more than 3,000 parts per million of sulfur dioxide. So remember when I said the federal government requires wines to be labeled contain sulfites if they have at least 10 parts per million. Yeah. Dried apricots have 3,000. They have 300 times as much sulfur dioxide as the minimum that you have to then label on the bottle of wine. I'm guessing the apricots have to be labeled, but I don't actually know the answer to that. But anyways, most dry wines will have 100 parts per million or less of sulfur dioxide. So 30 times less amount of sulfur dioxide than you'd find in dried apricots. Another common culprit is frozen french fries or just frozen potatoes of any kind. These, again, the sulfur dioxide is added to prevent them from turning brown, and they can have nearly 2,000 parts per million of sulfites. And the thing is, the process of using sulfites to preserve wine isn't a new thing. This isn't something that is part of, you know, processed America or some, you know, mass production situation like we've been doing this for centuries in the wine world. I mean, back in Roman times, winemakers would burn candles made of sulfur in empty wine containers to keep the wine from turning to vinegar. And they also started using sulfur in the early 1900s to stop bacteria and other yeast from growing. So, again, this is a natural for the. Like, as natural as you can get. I'm a little weird using. I feel like it's a little weird using the word natural, but it's a pretty natural process. And often. All right, I'm gonna pick on some people, and I'm so sorry if this is you. I often hear people say that they can't drink red wine specifically because of the sulfites. But actually, wines with more color, like red wines, tend to need less sulfites than clear wine, like white wines, because we're not worried about the oxidation situation. Right. If our wines turn in brown red wine, that's not going to happen as much. As much as a white wine would. So a typical dry white wine might have up to 100 parts per million of sulfites, whereas a typical dry red will only have about 50 to 75. If you have a problem with red wine and you do notice headaches, I'm not saying you don't. I'm not saying. I'm not gaslighting you to say that you're not getting headaches. Don't get me wrong. I'm saying it's probably not the sulfites. There's probably something else going on. So if it's red wines in particular, Harvard Medical School has actually pointed out that sometimes tannins in red wines can cause the release of serotonin in your brain, which at a high level may cause headaches for you. If you just notice headaches when you're drinking wine. To be honest, the most likely culprit is either a alcohol, right? Like, let's not forget wine has alcohol and if you drink too much alcohol, you'll become dehydrated and one of the symptoms of that is having a headache. So make sure you are drinking. I my go to is at least one glass of water between every glass of wine. The other culprit could be sugar. I love producing this podcast for you every week, but here's the truth. It's not free. That's why I'm so grateful for sponsors like the following brands supporting me so that I can share everything I love about wine with you. If you're able, show them some support back. Thank you to Pour Memory A brilliant way to capture the stories and moments behind every bottle of wine you enjoy for sponsoring today's episod One of my favorite things about wine isn't just the flavor, it's the memories it creates. If you're like me, sometimes the wines you love have nothing to do with the flavor and everything to do with the people you share them with and the moment you open them. That's exactly what Pour Memory helps you record. Pour memories. Labels stick on your bottles without leaving a residue and the top layer goes into the journal. After you enjoy it, you can track what you loved, who you shared it with, and what made it memorable. Plus, they have an iOS app so you can scan, track and digitally journal your bottles. On the go. Start capturing your wine memories because every bottle has a story worth Remembering. Go to pourmemory.com and use code corkandfizz for 15% off your purchase. I'll be honest, I never really believed chocolate could pair well with wine until I partnered with Bon Chocolates for a local event. Rasha, the owner, created four incredible truffles that matched perfectly with the wines we were tasting. Bon Chocolates is a European inspired chocolatier right here in the Seattle area making beautiful bonbons and confections with fine chocolate in all natural ingredients. They make the perfect gift. Visit their local shop in Bothel or order online at bonchocola.com and use code corkandfiz10 for 10% off. If you tend to drink lower cost wine, you know wine from the grocery store. No hate. Just know that a lot of times these wines have some added sugar to them. And if you're anything like me, too much sugar can Cause a bit of a headache. The last culprit often is histamines. Now, I am no doctor, so please do not take this as medical advice. But some people have found taking an antihistamine before they drink wine actually helps them not develop the headache. Because you might, you're not allergic to sulfites, but maybe you're allergic to something else in the line or you have a problem with the histamines. And so taking that sometimes helps people. Again, not medical advice. Please don't take it as such. Now, there were two other kind of myths that were tied to this one that I wanted to cover super quick. And one of those is that, okay, so if, you know, if I'm in my head and I'm thinking sulfites cause headaches in wine than organic or natural wine, if I'm drinking that, that'll mean no hangovers, no headaches. That is also not true. We are also debunking that myth right now. Hangovers, again, they are generally caused by dehydration due to alcohol consumption. And organic and natural wines still have alcohol in them and they also contain sulfites. Natural wine doesn't have a, like, technical definition, but generally the wines have about 30 to 70 parts per million of sulfites in them. Now, organic wines in the US if you have a wine that says organic wine, not made from organic grapes, that's different. So if it says organic wine, they actually cannot add sulfites, but they will still have the naturally occurring ones in there. If it says made with organic grapes, then I believe it can have up to a hundred parts per million. And in Europe and Canada, if it's a wine from Europe or Canada that is labeled organic, it can have up to a hundred parts per million for a red wine or 150 parts per million of sulfites for a white or so. Again, you are not completely avoiding sulfites by drinking natural or organic. If you notice that you don't get headaches with the organic or natural wines and you do with more mass produced or anything not labeled as organic or natural, there's a good chance it's either the sugar, the histamines, or some other additive, something that was maybe used in the vineyard that was not organic that might be causing those headaches, it is highly unlikely that it's the sulfites. And the other myth that I just wanted to cover real quick, this is probably more opinion than anything else. I'll give you a fair, give you that. That caveat or that I'll give you that psa. Now, there's also this belief that a clean wine won't give you a headache. First of all, I hate the term clean wine. That is. That is truly an opinion. That is not a fact, even though I think it should be. But it's similar to natural in that there's no clear definition of a clean wine. And clean often says like, nothing added, nothing removed, and a lot of wine being made by small producers. That's exactly how they're making their wine. They're just not calling it clean. And again, clean doesn't mean that you can't put sulfites in it because they are natural and they're totally fine to use in your wine. So again, that's. I just don't think, you know, reaching for a clean wine means you're not going to get a headache. You know, it still has alcohol, still potentially has sugar in it, and it still could have histamines just because those are naturally produced and it still has sulfites. All right, there you have it. We have debunked our first myth. Well, let's be real. I've debunked many myths on this podcast, but our first in the mini series. You can now confidently tell anyone that sulfites in wine are not causing their headaches unless they are part of the 1% that actually has a sulfite allergy. And I'm sorry if that's you and we've completely ignored you. You do get headaches from salt bites, but you're the only ones. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine podcast. If you loved it as much as I did, would so appreciate it if you could take a quick second Rate it. Leave a review. These are such a great reminder that people are listening to me talk about this stuff. And it's not just me sitting in my office talking into a mic. And if you know some wine lovers and maybe some wine lovers that blame sulfites for their headaches, you should share this episode with them. And if you'd like to show additional support for the show, you can become a paid subscriber, click the link in the show notes, and become a monthly supporter for $10 or less a month. This is not required. All of these episodes are available to you free, including my entire backlog. But if you wanted to show some more support, you can do that. You'll get a shout out in the next episode I record. Plus, if you choose the $10 per month option, you'll get to choose a topic for a future episode. In next week's episode, I will be interviewing Canadian winemakers Katie and Ben of 1 Mill Road. They are major advocates for Canadian wine. They want to get worldwide recognition, not just for their own wine, but for Canadian wine in general. And I couldn't agree more with them. Thanks again for listening. If you want to learn more about wine, come follow me at corkandfizz on Instagram. Cheers.