red wine and stuffiness

[CarellFan]

Apparently drinking red wine can make a person feel stuffed up. I might recall a limited effect of this on myself, but I've always attributed it mostly to the way alcohol relaxes my body..... that if I'm already feeling a little stuffy, drinking alcohol is probably just going to make it worse. However, I might like to perform a scientific experiment on myself to be sure (just in time for the holiday season, haha), so I was wondering if anyone knew of any particular brand names of red wine I should try for this effect? Or other types of alcohol? Personal testimonies welcome.....

Thanks!

[Sneezles]

Red wine makes me sneeze like crazy and always has. It makes me feel stuffy but then the sneezing starts and it can be a lot of fun

No other alcohol does this to me and only red wine, not any of the others (white or rose). As for any particular one, all red wine makes me feel and react that way so I wouldn't really like to say.

Shame red wine is my favourite drink hahaha!

[Nicole]

Red wine makes me sneeze like crazy and always has.

Same here! And I start by getting stuffy at first as well.

I've noticed it with any red wine I drink, no matter the grape or the brand. And I've drunk a lot of red wines.

[Cloud Dancing]

Red wine makes me sneeze like crazy and always has.

Same here! And I start by getting stuffy at first as well.

I've noticed it with any red wine I drink, no matter the grape or the brand. And I've drunk a lot of red wines.

I am exactly the same! I had like the worst experience when I went wine tasting once.

The room was full of these snooty people, clearly with silver spoons where the sun don't shine, and there I was, sneezing my head off whilst trying to comment on the 'fruity aroma' of a 1992 Pinot Noir!

There are warning signs though...I get a dull ache behind the first, then stuffiness and finally a constant tickling deep down in my nose. Oddly enough, I don't get the same thing with white wine...a friend of mine says its something to do with the particular chemical properties of red wine grapes...but then again, he would say that. He is a chemist.

[Lynne]

there are two reasons that people react to red wines as opposed to whites. Red wines contain a lot more tannin, which is a common allergen. However, that generally produces headaches and not sneezing.

The other reason is that red wines contain histamine, which is the chemical that tells your brain when to sneeze. White wine doesn't contain a very high level of histamine.

[Cloud Dancing]

there are two reasons that people react to red wines as opposed to whites. Red wines contain a lot more tannin, which is a common allergen. However, that generally produces headaches and not sneezing.

The other reason is that red wines contain histamine, which is the chemical that tells your brain when to sneeze. White wine doesn't contain a very high level of histamine.

Yep...that sounds very familiar . I'm rather pleased we have the knowledge as to why...mind you, that does not change the fact I still do like red wine.

[count tiszula]

Are these ingredients the "congeners" which are supposed to cause hangovers? Is that the right name? They certainly give me hangovers, but sadly not sneeziness; however I know sneezy people who claim is it red stuff, though I suspect that most of the effect is the sneezy effect of alcohol.

The sneeziest drinks would be heavy dark stuff; port comes to mind, or perhaps claret. Classic oldfashioned vintage stuff.

[CarellFan]

Speaking of histamine, just found this online:

Another big influence on the amount histamine in a red wine is the thickness of the grapes skins. Generally thicker skin grapes contain 1) more colour and 2) more histamines. This means that grapes with thick skins like Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Nero D’Avola, Malbec and Merlot will have higher histamine levels than Grenache, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, or Barbera which have thinner skins.

So maybe something like port would have a potentially stronger effect (if it is made from thick grape skins... I have no idea!), although from the sounds of it so far, that isn't necessarily the case (a study quoted on Wikipedia found no difference between low and high histimine wines in sensitive people, although I think they were studying people who got headaches, not sneezing). Still, as far as being able to tell if it's the histamine in the wine you're reacting to, it's pretty simple... Wiki said just take an anti-histamine an hour before you drink the red wine. If you experience less symptoms than normal, then you can blame your usual reaction on the histamine. If your symptoms are unchanged, then you may be reacting to something else in the wine.

[Trillium]

Speaking of histamine, just found this online:

Another big influence on the amount histamine in a red wine is the thickness of the grapes skins. Generally thicker skin grapes contain 1) more colour and 2) more histamines. This means that grapes with thick skins like Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Nero D’Avola, Malbec and Merlot will have higher histamine levels than Grenache, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, or Barbera which have thinner skins.

So maybe something like port would have a potentially stronger effect (if it is made from thick grape skins... I have no idea!), although from the sounds of it so far, that isn't necessarily the case (a study quoted on Wikipedia found no difference between low and high histimine wines in sensitive people, although I think they were studying people who got headaches, not sneezing). Still, as far as being able to tell if it's the histamine in the wine you're reacting to, it's pretty simple... Wiki said just take an anti-histamine an hour before you drink the red wine. If you experience less symptoms than normal, then you can blame your usual reaction on the histamine. If your symptoms are unchanged, then you may be reacting to something else in the wine.

This is really interesting.

Hmm, not sure if it's such good advice to take an antihistamine before drinking wine. Might make you fall asleep. In my experience, I can only drink a small amount while taking Zyrtec; the antihistamine seems to amplify the effect of the booze. Which is positive in one sense -- I save money on liquor bills!

[sneezybreezy]

I am intrigued with the whole beer/wine-making process, but what chemist isn't?????

I know the hangovers have to deal with the fusel alcohols: 1-propanol, 2-propanol, butanol isomers, furfural, and amyl alcohol. If the beverage is not properly distilled then it will cause headaches etc. Some people are allergic to the sulfite in wine, but that is more prevalent in white wine than red. However, Lynne is right on with the cause of sneezing is due to additives into the wine which are various kinds of histimines. Sneeziness depends on the person if they are allergic to the alcohols, sulfites or the additives.