Does wine worsen spring allergies? We asked an expert.

If you’re one of the 66 million American adults who suffer from seasonal allergies, a spring fling with your favorite syrah may increase your sniffles.

Seasonal allergies, also known as hay fever or allergic rhinitis, are caused by the body’s reaction to certain outdoor allergens, like pollen, grass and ragweed.

If you’re allergic to these seasonal substances, your immune system can overreact by releasing histamine and other chemicals, which can cause sneezing, watery eyes, a runny nose and more.

As it turns out, wine also contains histamines, which are produced when the wine undergoes malolactic (or secondary) fermentation. While red wines typically contain the most histamine, lower amounts can be found in white wine, rosé and sparkling.

For those sensitive to histamines, drinking wine can elicit a similar allergic response to those with hay fever.

While people with seasonal allergies can trigger a histamine response when they inhale allergens like pollen, those with a histamine-related wine intolerance face trouble in the gut.

For them, their body don’t produce enough diamine oxidase (DAO), a digestive enzyme that processes histamine in the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, they end up with too much histamine in the body, which can cause migraines, a stuffy nose, asthma, hives and more.

That said, histamine isn’t the only thing to blame for wine allergies. Grape proteins, fining agents, ethanol, mold (like Botrytis), yeast and other products can be to blame.

Also, while a sulfite sensitivity can cause an allergy-like symptoms after drinking wine, it’s a different mechanism in the body that’s creating the response.

So the question is, does drinking wine make seasonal allergies worse?

“When I explain histamines to my patients, I give them the analogy of a cup of water,” said Dr. Sonal Patel,an allergy and immunology specialist at the Huntington Asthma & Allergy Center in Pasadena. “Everything you’re exposed to adds water (histamine) to your cup, and at a certain point, the cup can overflow and you start feeling symptoms. Sometimes, a single thing won’t bother you, but the cumulative effect of histamine can.”

As Patel points out, the glass of wine you had last week may not have caused a response. But if you’re sensitive to histamines and you cuddle your dog, mow the lawn, clean the garage and drink red wine on a Saturday in spring, your histamine levels could overflow.

“The histamine that’s released in the body when you drink wine could probably exacerbate your seasonal allergies,” Patel said. “Separately, you could drink five glasses of red wine and histamine could add up too. It really depends on how much pollen is in the air and what else you did that day.”

But wine isn’t the only beverage that contains histamines. Other fermented drinks like beer, cider, kefir and even kombucha can trigger a histamine response in some people.

As for how to treat your wine-related allergy symptoms, Patel suggests “talking with your doctor, taking an antihistamine or using a sinus rinse or neti pot.”

What’s a wine lover with hay fever to do?

While all wine contains some level of histamines, red wine is definitely the worse culprit, with between 60-3,800 micrograms/liter. Champagne, with 15-670 micrograms/liter comes in second, followed by beer with 21-305 micrograms/liter.

Least susceptible to causing the spring sniffles would be white wine (3-120 micrograms/liter) and rosé.

As for natural, organic or biodynamic wines, those contain just as much histamines as their conventional counterparts. So if you’re looking to stave off your seasonal allergies, it’s best to stick with a fresh, white sipper.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

Vaughn Duffy Wines 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, Hopkins River Ranch ($32) Vibrant notes of jasmine, and orange blossom, followed by juicy acidity and layers of pink grapefruit, lemon sherbet and honeydew melon.

Pax Wines 2023 Vermentino, The Bench, Clements Hills ($30) Grapefruit rind, salted lime, lemon meringue, Kaffir lime and white flowers dominate the aromas of this white wine, followed by with zesty notes of citrus on the palate.

Kunde 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Block 42B20, Sonoma Valley ($35) Aromas of bright citrus and honeysuckle meet crisp acidity and minerality in the mouth with notes of stone fruit and orange zest.

Copain Winery 2023 Daybreak Wine Blend, Sonoma County ($38) On the nose, wild aromas of green tea, honey, ripe mango and Lilikoi. The palate is clean, refreshing and electrifying with flavors of pear, nectarine and guava.

Folk Machine 2023 "White Light" White Wine, California ($17) Fresh, acid-leaning, mineral, saline/briny extremely drinkable and easy to enjoy. Blend of verdelho, tocai friulano, vermentino, albariño and sauvignon blanc.

You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Doyle at 707-521-5478 or sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Sarah on Instagram at @whiskymuse.