Study Is there a wine allergy?

Wine allergy: allergic reactions even with wine.

(26.08.2010) Is there a wine allergy? Apparently, wine can cause allergic reactions in some people. So far, a wine allergy has not been scientifically studied at all and most people do not even know that such an allergy exists at all.

The University of Mainz (Johannes Gutenberg University) now wants to take on the topic and sent to around 4000 citizens of the city of Mainz questionnaires. “We enter uncharted territory with it, because so far still nowhere in the world scientifically examined how frequently such a wine allergy occurs among the population”, Professor Heinz Decker explains the study. The study will show how widespread a wine allergy is in the population.

The trigger for a wine allergy is thought to be that proteins in the wine trigger an immune reaction. Wine allergy patients complain of symptoms such as headache, swollen neck, rash, sneezing, itching and difficulty breathing. Depending on the type of wine, varying amounts of, but often clearly detectable amounts of biogenic amines such as serotonin, histamine or tyramine may be present in the wine. Amines are small building blocks of proteins called amino acids.

For a long time, such proteins were filtered from the wines, as they led to cloudiness. However, after the winemakers discovered that valuable flavorings were removed, more proteins were left in the wine. This could also explain an increase in allergic substances in wines. According to the director of the institute, Deckert, several protein groups could be considered for the allergy. The first results are already expected at the end of the year. (Sb)