Wine myths
Sulfites cause wine headaches
“Sulfites in wine are what give you a headache.”
The sulfite–headache link is not established. Sulfite sensitivity is a recognised clinical issue, but it typically presents as a respiratory reaction rather than a headache, and dried fruit contains far more sulfite than wine does.
The full answer
Sulfite sensitivity is real and recognised, principally among people with asthma, and it is usually described as a respiratory response. Headache is not the characteristic presentation.
The quantities point the other way too. Dried apricots routinely carry several times the sulfite concentration of a glass of wine, and are not associated with the same complaint.
White wines generally carry more added sulfur dioxide than reds, yet the headache is far more commonly reported after red wine — which is difficult to reconcile with sulfites being the agent.
What is actually going on is not settled. Alcohol itself, dehydration, histamines, tannins and other congeners have all been proposed, and WineHQ does not claim to know. Saying so is more useful than picking one.
If a reader believes a specific reaction is happening to them, that is a question for a clinician. WineHQ is not a medical publisher and offers no reassurance in either direction.
Sulfite sensitivity exists, is documented, and matters to the people who have it. The error is in the symptom attributed to it and in how widely it is assumed to apply.
Why the belief persists
"Contains sulphites" is the only chemical warning printed on a wine label, so it is the only candidate most drinkers have ever been offered.
A question that is genuinely open. Saying so is more useful than the confident answer that would otherwise fill the space.
What would settle it: Research answering the question.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Food Standards Agency — wine standards and food labelling — Food Standards Agency
- NHS — calculating alcohol units — National Health Service (UK)
- International Code of Oenological Practices — OIV