Is Wine Gluten Free?
Posted by Mike in MiscAug 8th, 2009 | 48 responses
I’ve heard: “Unbleached flour paste is used to assure a leak-proof seal on the heads.”
Wine is one of those things celiacs have always assumed to be gluten free… BUT is it really?
First, I have NEVER heard, even from the most sensitive people, that wine has ever bothered(gluten style) anyone.
Here are two links to descriptions on how wine barrels are made. You will notice they use a flour paste to create a leak-proof seal:
- http://www.stavin.com/barrelsystems/insert.htm
- http://www.mastergardenproducts.com/howbarrelsmade.htm
On the contrary….
“I’m a winemaker who’s married to a wonderful women who has Celiac. So i know first hand the concerns Celiacs have about food and beverages. I know from my background that if gluten was to get into wine that it is very unlikely from barrels. All high grade barrels are split and are never sealed with any paste, just metal rings and hammers. But I was uncertain of gluten in fermentation products, filter pads, composite corks and fining agents. so out of curiosity I had two of my wines, one with cork the other screw cap, both tested for Gluten and they both came back with no detectable amounts of gluten or less than 1ppm. We understand, here at Willowbrook Cellars, that there are still many concerns when it comes to gluten and wine and that is why we decided to get these wines tested.” -Joe Otos from Willowbrook Cellars
My Conclusion: GLUTEN FREE
I’m going to stick with the overall consensus that wine IS gluten free. I’d like to hear form more manufacturers. I’ve never heard of anyone getting “gluten” sick from wine. The barrels are traditionally used over and over again for many decades. Plus, the paste(if used at all) is only used on the top seal of the barrel and would contaminate on such a low level, if at all. I have also heard that only some barrel manufacturers have this practice.
I’m not going to spend a nice day at a winery, an evening with friends, or a night with a cigar worrying about a few parts per million POSSIBLY contaminating my glass of wine.
48 Responses to “Is Wine Gluten Free?”
Leave a Reply
About Me
Interesting post and thanks for sharing! Over the years, I get an occasional glutening seemingly related to wine. I have always assumed it was a yeast issue, meaning that the starter for the yeast used for fermentation was grain based. This may present another option.
For me, it’s rare and hard to pin down, so it’s not like I have stopped drinking wine
i have kept hearing this rumor and no wine makers say they use this supposed paste (the rumor is also with there being a lining in the barrels)
also logically i dont see how flour paste would even seal since it is against a liquid and wouldnt the liquid thin it out?
also the wood should seal from the wine expanding it, but if there is said paste from how it is described i think there is minimal to no contact with it at all. i cant help but think it is a rare thing to do since the whiskey barrels are not sealed with anything other than craftsmanship
i just dont buy it, now spirits made from the grains sure i wont drink those but that is a huge difference
-matt
I’m a winemaker who’s married to a wonderful women who has Celiac. So i know first hand the concerns Celiacs have about food and beverages. I kow from my background that if gluten was to get into wine that it is very unlikely from barrels. All high grade barrels are split and are never sealed with any paste, just metal rings and hammers. But I was uncertain of gluten in fermentation products, filter pads, composite corks and fining agents. so out of curiosity I had two of my wines, one with cork the other screw cap, both tested for Gluten and they both came back with no detectable amounts of gluten or less than 1ppm. We understand, here at Willowbrook Cellars, that there are still many concerns when it comes to gluten and wine and that is why we decided to get these wines tested.
All Kendall-Jackson wines are gluten-free. All barrels used for fermentation or aging are gluten-free.
Wine is gluten free. Such a mention on the label of a bottle of wine is just another marketing trick… Thank you Joe Otos for clearing up that doubt!
Cheers!
Christine
I did question this as a kit that my husband purchased to make wine stated on the package it was gluten free. But, how come, non of the other kits had this and the wine did not affect me? I do believe the “marketing trick” comment. I was very curious and found these statements very helpful. Will definitely continue drinking my wine.
Cheers.
Berta
while it is partly a marketing trick it also (when done honestly) makes it much easier for us to find foods. granted benifiber puts gluten free on their package yet on their site says that celiacs and gluten intolerant people probably shouldnt use it still… right
-matt
I know some of these post are quite old, but I’m going to put this on here anyway. I’ve been doing a bit of research and found taht some wine company’s add barley malt afterwards to enhance the flavour of wines. Also in some cases such as with cider barley enzymes are added to speed up the fermentation process, Although in many cases the gluten will content will be below the 0.02% codex standard some people still react, the same as some people react to rum and whiskey for the same reason. The only problem is that if its under 0.02% they can state that its gluten free. Hopefully when the new guidelines come in 2012, us more sensitive types will have a clearer choice.
Hope this isn’t too waffly and helps. Please bear in mind that some Coeliacs can tolerate the codex standard in food.
@Kat
Great information! Do you have a source on that? I have not been able to find one. Hopefully we can get some wine manufacturers to chime in about that. Good point that “gluten free” does not always mean 100% GF. Where do you live, outside the USA?
Confused im on a strict gluten free diet can ceoliacs drink wine or not? Yes r no. all this maybe stuff is just a waste of time. either we can or we cant!!
J, the general consensus is it is fine. if you are really worried about it contact the maker of what ever wine you buy to check to be sure.
of course though there is always the other view and some mis information out there, just like with distilled spirits and white vinegar
-matt
kat as to your statement about Barley malt, that is not only false but very illegal in the U.S. The BATF regulates what is approved for use in wine. If a winery wanted color or sweetness why would they use Malt when they are surrounded by grape juice and grape coloring agents. What ever source you found that on does not seem to have their facts right. As to Barley Enzymes, yes enzymes are used but are isolated from their source. Wineries would not want to add any other flavoring agents other than grapes and oak. I’ve tested roughly 20 different wines I’ve made. i chose ones that had different products, enzymes, yeast, nutrients, fining agents and types of corks inn them and they all came back with no traceable amount of gluten. I take this subject very seriously due to my wife being a Celiac and ultra sensitive to the slightest amount of cross contamination. So it something that I look at the products out there and do my due diligence. And as of today I haven’t found a product that has gluten, but feel free to ask to the suppliers of these wine products. Scott Labs in Pataluma and Vinquiry in Windsor CA carry most of what’s out there.
@ Joe
Thank you so much for clearing this up!
Can you post a link to where we can get some of your wine? I’d like to try some. Are you on Winelibrary?
WINE IS GLUTEN FREE
My two main brands are Owl Ridge and Willowbrook. I don’t believe they are the wine library, but I know they are Angelbecks in Montclair NJ. Good luck with your search and if I come across anything about gluten in wine or any product used in the wine industry I’ll make sure to post it.
Hello, all.
The possibility of gluten contamination in wines is a tricky one, for sure, and I would love to believe that all wines are gluten free. The problem I have with believing that is based on a couple things, both of which are purely logical objections: One, just because something is “standard across the industry” doesn’t mean it is going to always be true or that just because Joe Otos tested a couple wines (bless you for doing that) doesn’t mean that all the other wines out there are also gluten free.
It’s also true that some celiacs get sick from trace amounts of gluten that are considered safe by current standards.
The second main objection I have is the idea that “since I’ve never heard of anyone getting sick from wine, the idea lacks credibility.” Another flaw in logic. I personally have talked to at least a dozen celiacs, myself among them, who have been very ill after drinking wine. At first I assumed it was the tannins or sulfite content, but I had been drinking wine for years and only some wines made me feel ill. The results didn’t necessarily seem related to the tanning or sulfite content, however. I have been incredibly ill from drinking less than a teaspoon of wine in the exact same way as from ingesting small amounts of gluten. So far, the only other things that have made me that sick were gluten, annatto, and Sauza tequila (and I’m still not sure what it is in the Sauza to make me ill, as I’m fine with Jose Cuervo).
I’m not going to jump to the conclusion that those wines necessarily contained gluten, but neither am I ready to rule it out. So far, the arguments against wine containing gluten aren’t strong enough to make it worth my getting sick. And it’s not at all unusual for people with celiac disease to be sensitive to other things, such as annatto and MSG. If all winemakers would be as conscientious about what’s in their wines as Joe, I’d feel better about trying it again. For now, the risk of a reaction isn’t worth it.
I recently was told that womans world published an article stating that wine DID contain gluten!! What the heck who checks these accusations out and how do they get published if there is not any truth to them?
@Scott, the issue is that you have a bunch of people with celiac and or gluten intolerance that eat/drink something and get sick so they think there has to be gluten in it. part of the issue is that they rely on “modern medicine” for figuring out what is wrong with them when allergy testing and allergy shots do not work very well and they have a hard time pointing out how combinations of foods/ingredients/etc cause reactions
it took years for people to relize that vinegar was safe, and longer for us to figure out that distilled liquors are safe as long as they are not added to with any gluten items after they are distilled. some celiacs claim they get reactions but my theory (i am not a medical professional but i have been exposed to a lot of info from the field from my mother who was a nurse and an instructor) is that they have secondary allergies to other proteins of the grains that do make it through the process or have reactions to other things entirely.
-matt
Scott- Yes, that is very concerning.
Matt- I agree! Thank You
The wine debate might be qualmed if someone was willing to do a study which tested a number of american and european wines that used various types of barrels and ingredients. I’d be very interested to know if any gluten levels were found in any of the wines. In fact, this would be a helpful for distilled liquors too. It would at least give the community some relevant insight rather than just heresay. Joe, it’s great that you test your wines! I don’t expect every winemaker to, but it provides us with some real insight.
For now, I’m sticking with “wine is gluten-free” side of the debate unless I’m convinced otherwise. I’ve never had a problem with it that I know of and I don’t like liquor or gf beer much so I tend to stick to red wine only.
@cassie, with the liquors there is an issue still. they might be “gluten free” but other proteins might still be there that could set celicas off if they have wheat/rye/barley allergies where they are sensitive to other proteins than just the gluten (or so is my non medical professional theory). the standard suggestion for “gluten free whiskey” is makers mark, which uses white wheat. i have heard a few people having reactions but not many.
i agre tests would be great but we also need to pay attention and if we get sick, then we need to avoid it. IIRC becks beer is legally “gluten free”, something like 6 ppm, or less they say that their tests meet the legal requirement but that one should talk to their doctor or use their judgment. i wouldnt drink it but some celiacs might.
-matt
@ everyone contributing to this blog:
I had a woman come into my store yesterday proclaming she had a gluten allergy and I was immediately skeptical. As a person attempting to make wine my profession, I get annoyed by the self-diagnosed sulfite allergy people (drink more water/eat more food with your wine!) and I was bothered to hear of yet another reason why people can’t seem to be pleased with anything I have to offer them. However, after conducting some research into the gulten issue and my own mother having a gluten allergy, I am now posing a question for the group: When someone comes in and asks for “gluten free wine” is the general concensus that European wines have trace amounts of gluten from barrels while American wines do NOT? I am trying to expand my ability to exceed my customers’ needs and I would appreciate your responses. This is a very interesting issue indeed and if I had a dollar to my name, I’d donate for more testing.
DRINK MORE WINE!
@lersif, that is the great question, i think it honestly just depends what barrels it is in, the more exact way would be to get a response from each wine producer with actual test results. from what i have seen about the australian standards, i think the ausi companies will at least have a statement on their site or have a canned response that answers the question.
I wanted to know if Reisling and Moscato wines are gluten free?
Thanks
W
@whitney it doesn’t mater the type/style of wine but what the manufacturer does in production. over all wine is pretty safe. if you have specific worries contact the specific manufacturer. i would think with australia’s celiac awareness that they are going to be safe unless marked other wise but don’t go by that as the final say.
All wines are not gluten free. I know a winemaker in Napa Valley that makes excellent artisnal wines. I asked about gluten/wheat after drinking the wine for a few weeks and gradually developing my usual gluten symptoms (abdominal pain)… and found out that particular winemaker uses wheat paste to seal the casks for red wines. Once I stopped drinking the wine (actually switched to wine I knew was gluten free), my symptoms cleared up within about a week. You definitely have to check with each manufacturer.
Over Christmas I had one glass of Champagne and one glass of white wine. Became extremely ill and developed the Erythema Nodosum that always comes after I consume gluten. Some white wines are fine for me (i.e. no reaction at all to them) as are some “champagnes;” and I don’t know if it was the wine or the champagne that made me ill. In reading I do note that the filtration media used to filter wine contains cellulose – sometimes made by paper companies. Some papers do contain starch (wheat or potato source) so I wonder if wheat starch in filtration media might be the source of the problem? Does anyone have further knowledge of this? Is it a good idea to suggest that one should contact the individual vintner to determine the type of filtration media used?
@joy it is going to have to be on a manufacture by manufacture base, maybe even a winery or specific line basis.
i would honestly be hard pressed to think that enough gluten would come out of a filter to actually even leave enough to test at all (if a filter produced very much junk after it is rinsed it wouldnt be really doing its job). of course i do not want to consume anything that has wheat used in it but i think stepping to not wanting anything that has been filtered by something that has a basic thing in it that was originally sourced from a gluten containing grain might be a bit far.
the real answer comes down to if it tests for it or not.
i honestly think a lot of gluten sensitive/ celiacs over blame gluten contamination (my self included) when really it is other allergies, flukes, parasites, etc that make us sick (not trying to say that you are doing this in this situation), the other night i had a bad lower intestine issues when i had eaten exactly the same thing the night before with no issues, if i had eaten out some where or from a questionable source i would have jumped right to gluten but in that situation i know for sure it wasnt.
but i digress. if you are worried contact the manufacture and if you have any lot/batch numbers on the wine make sure to have that for them too
-matt
I am a celiac that enjoys a good glass of wine. I too have struggled with the sealing of barrels question. I have noticed that some wines do make me ill. I honestly do not know if it is gluten, or yeast, or something else. I have been able to confirm that each time the wine consumed has been aged in wooden barrels as opposed to stainless steelI become ill . So I go out of my way to drink labels using the stainless steel type.
I have been having some bad symptoms with one of my favorite wines Chateau St. Michelle Riesling and I called. She said that the wine itself was 100% Gluten free but because of a process done to the barrels they could not “guarantee that it was gluten free”. I did a little research and apparently a lot of rieslings are treated this way.
I contacted Kendall-Jackson wineries yesterday asking about the flour paste/gluten issue. They confirmed that they do use the flour paste in some of their wines (they didn’t narrow it down to which) and cannot declare their wines “gluten-free”. Not sure where Mark Osmun got his info, but it differs from what I was just told by whomever responds at the KJwinery website to “contact us” queries.
Thanks Karen! I’m actually glad to hear a company admit they are not 100% gluten free. Usually, if it is debatable, they just try to get more sales.
[...] has an interesting post over at Switch2GlutenFree.com that has an even more interesting comment string. The original post is dated August 8th, 2009 but [...]
All wines that come into contact with any wood barrels would be possibly tainted by gluten products. All wines aged in wood barrels have the heads of the barrels “pasted” on by a gluten product and then squeezed onto the barrel. If a wine has not come into contact with any wooden, usually oak, barrels, then it is most likely gluten free. So stick with wines not filtered through a paper based, fiber filter and fermented in stainless steel and with not gluten additives and you should be ok! I have found one winery stating that their wines are gluten free: Frogs Leap. Frey uses only stainless steel and uses no additives (wouldn’t address the filter issue) and, maybe, some of the Sauvignon Blanc’s at Benziger are free of gluten. Cheers!!!
There are quite a few popular wine yeasts that contain gluten. In fact almost all do but very small amounts. We use a gluten free yeasts and that is steadily becoming more popular.
Just a sidebar…many with gluten issues have malabsorbtion issues also. Symptoms of malabsorbtion seem very similar to gluten ones. Perhaps some reactions might be from fructose malabsorbtion?
Something else we now get to look out for is using gluten as a fining agent. I understand some wineries that are trying to create vegan wines have tried gluten for this purpose.
A brief study was done on whether this would come through in the wine, and some types of gluten did leave detectable levels of gluten in the wine:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21375303
Just on the ‘glutened by wine or not’ issue, I have been glutened by wine as well. I get neurological symptoms as opposed to gut problems, so at least it is easy to determine whether I’m reacting to an allergen (which DOES give me gut problems) or the gluten (which causes severe vertigo).
Because the symptoms are so severe, I always trial new products by themselves, so I don’t believe it was something other than the wine.
However, I should say that I’m very sensitive to gluten, too. There are numerous celiacs in the family and while we all go down when there is major gluten contamination, there are many products that they can all have which make me have a gluten reaction.
[...] http://switch2glutenfree.com/misc/is-wine-gluten-free/ –Very pro-wine as well. Includes a personal testimony from a winemaker who has a wine-drinking celiac wife. Even gives links to learn more about barrel production and wine clarification. http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreefoodshoppin1/f/Is-Wine-Gluten-Free.htm– Fairly cut and dry. Thumbnail explanation. The basic facts. http://www.everydayhealth.com/blogs/the-/does-your-wine-contain-gluten– A hard-nosed opinion by a doctor who specializes on the topic. (Apparently, according to her, I should be taking wine consumption down to 3 glasses per week. I’m in trouble…) [...]
I can see this article is quite old, but still some recent comments, so I would like to go ahead and chime in here too.
My official answer about ‘All wines are gluten free!’ is NO! they are not! How do I know? By my own diligent work contacting wineries and asking specific questions about aging process and fining agents. NOT all wineries will say they can guarantee 100% gluten free. And yes, both my husband and I have had our ‘typical gluten symptoms’ from certain wines. This has happened on many occasions and at home and in restaurants—so it’s not just a dirty glass (which has made us sick too!). In fact, someone posted a picture on Facebook of wines in Europe that actually have Allergy statements on them—with actual pictures of the wine bottles stating there is Gluten in them! We drink Peter Vella box wine 100% safely—-they age in stainless steel casks and only use animal based fining agents! Black Box wines do not guarantee GF and we have most definitely gotten sick from them. As has another Celiac friend, who was very grateful that we enlightened her about Black Box because she couldn’t figure out why she was feeling so bad. I wish the US could label as honestly as Europe and Australia do for wine.
katieb, Thanks for that terrific post! Very informative! I have also been told, by the vintner, that all organic Frogs Leap wines are gluten free. Have you been able to find out if there are any Champagnes or sparkling wines that are gluten free as well? Thanks again for posting and enjoy the Holidays!
I write a gluten free blog and have struggled with a great answer on the gluten and wine question as well. Mike I like your enthusiasm but like Rebecca’s comment and Marie’s I agree that there are wine’s that I react to, and once cutting them out my symptoms go away. I am going to use this forum and especially the responses as an example in my website!
Thanks
Erinn
http://www.gf-blog
[...] However I found some of these forums quite hilarious. This one is from Switch 2 Gluten Free by a guy named Mike. I wouldn’t put full faith in his article but trust more of the responses and comments directed toward the article. He even says in his ABOUT ME section that he does not have adverse reactions to gluten and has trouble staying away from dishes and favorites that have gluten in them. Again a funny article with real responses. Rebecca’s and Marie’s responses hit home the best to me. View Forum Here [...]
[...] in 133 Americans suffer from celiac disease. Teaser, that's a very interesting question. I found this article by Joe Otos of Willowbrook Cellars who did tests on two of his wines and found no gluten. It's a [...]
when I drink red wine it doesnt bother me as bad a a white wine. Why is thay?
@Joe 3 reasons
1- the white wines you are getting have some or more gluten in them then the reds just by chance
2- you have a different food allergy/reaction that is not gluten and you are just reacting to something in the wine
3-just random coincidence
@Joe
If you react to sulfites as well as gluten, that might explain it. There are more sulfites in white wine than in red.
I have been gluten free for a year now–and a wine drinker–and I have noticed differences between wines and the effects on me. Black Box Cabernet seems to be okay, while the Sirah keeps me running to the bathroom. It just sucks that ingredients aren’t listed… or “natural flavors” or “artificial flavors” really means gluten. Is this what we have been reduced to? Our own Guinea Pig research projects? Why can’t companies get real and note their labels appropriately. The consumers will find out what is apparently in the products eventually and resent them then change to a different brand that labels consistently.
I have never had a problem with red wines. I’m one of the unlucky very-sensitive celiacs. However, I reacted to Martini and Rossi Asti champagne. I was in the liquor store this new years and one of the bottles of champagne actually said it was NOT gluten free. I heard that it’s an issue with the yeast being contaminated, but I cannot say for sure.
I have sent an email to Ruffino to see if their champagne is gluten free. After the Martini Asti I am not ready for a repeat!
A strawberry frozen yoghurt muted the liquid except for its Provencal herbs herbes de Provence and the hotel’s location. The nicely balanced palate presents a smooth start with the new system it will be that of your business and products.