Sulfites and histamine in sparkling wine: what's the truth?

Why is there sulfur in sparkling wine?

Almost every wine is sulfured, sparkling wine included. Sulfur dioxide, chemically SO₂, binds oxygen, inhibits unwanted yeasts and bacteria, and keeps color and freshness stable. It's added to the must or wine in small amounts, and yeast itself produces a bit during fermentation too. Completely sulfur-free wine is therefore practically nonexistent, even when no sulfur has been deliberately added.

On the label, these compounds are called sulfites. The EU Food Information Regulation classifies them among substances that can trigger allergies or intolerances. If the level exceeds 10 milligrams per liter, calculated as sulfur dioxide, the bottle must state "Contains sulfites." This applies to virtually every Sekt, Champagne, and Prosecco. The notice is a mandatory declaration for sensitive individuals, not a sign of poor quality.

How much sulfur is allowed in sparkling wine?

The upper limits are set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/934. For quality sparkling wine, which includes Sekt, Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco Spumante, the maximum is 185 milligrams of total sulfur dioxide per liter, and 235 milligrams for basic sparkling wine. Still wines have their own limits depending on color and sweetness. The term Crémant is stricter: anyone wanting to use it on the label may have no more than 150 milligrams per liter.

These figures are upper limits, not typical levels. How much sulfur a particular sparkling wine actually contains isn't stated on the label, only the sulfite warning appears there. Anyone wanting exact numbers needs to ask the producer directly. For organically produced wines, the EU sets lower maximum levels than for conventional ones. An organic seal on the bottle therefore means less permitted sulfur, but not sulfur-free.

Do sulfites in sparkling wine cause headaches?

Sulfites are popularly blamed as the main culprit behind wine headaches. There's no evidence to support this. True sulfite sensitivity is rare and mainly described in some people with asthma; it tends to show up in the respiratory tract, for example as tightness or a cough. For headaches after an evening of sparkling wine, the alcohol itself is the more obvious explanation.

A comparison helps put this in perspective. Under EU additive law, dried fruits like apricots may contain many times the sulfite level permitted in sparkling wine. Yet dried fruit is rarely blamed for headaches. Anyone who regularly experiences breathing problems, skin flushing, or heart palpitations after sparkling wine or wine should get it checked by a doctor rather than guessing at the cause.

How much histamine is in sparkling wine?

With histamine, the picture is murkier. It's produced by bacteria that break down amino acids, in wine mainly by lactic acid bacteria, for instance during malolactic fermentation, where tart malic acid is converted into softer lactic acid. Red wines almost always go through this process and therefore often contain more histamine than white wines. In sparkling wine, the level depends on the base wine and production method; there are hardly any reliable average figures, and EU law sets no legal limit.

Sparkling wine is nonetheless known in medicine, specifically as a test beverage. In 2001, the journal Aktuelle Dermatologie published a pilot study by Menne, Bodmer, and Amon. Forty patients with suspected histamine intolerance drank, in a double-blind setup, a nearly histamine-free sparkling wine and one adjusted to 20 milligrams of histamine per liter. Twelve experienced clear symptoms only with the histamine-spiked sparkling wine, 27 noticed no difference, and one person reacted only to the placebo.

The study shows that some affected individuals can react to histamine in sparkling wine. It does not show that commercial sparkling wine typically contains high histamine levels, since the amount in the test was deliberately set. Anyone who suspects an intolerance should have it checked by a doctor.