Key Takeaways

Red winesusually contain much higher levels of quercetin than white wines,Andrew Waterhouse, PhD, a wine chemist at the University of California, Davis, and an author of the new report, told Verywell.

RWH is not the same thing as a hangover: It can occur just 30 minutes to three hours after drinking a small amount of red wine—as little as one glass.

“Many people have headaches after drinking different types of alcohol, [including] beer and spirits, but red wine seems to be the one that many of my patients say will trigger a headache,”Anna Pace, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told Verywell.

“It isn’t that you have to drink a large amount—sometimes it could be a glass or a couple of sips—and there is a lot of variability in how people react to drinking red wine,” Pace explained.

However, scientists may be one step closer to determining what causes a headache after drinking red wine.

Causes and Risk Factors of Headaches

What Is It in Red Wine That Gives You a Headache?

Waterhouse and his team decided to investigate what could be causing RWH after considering what causes another common side effect that some experiencewhen drinking alcohol, known as facial flushing.

Flushing occurs in some people who metabolize alcohol less efficiently than others so that when they drink, their face becomes discolored, often red.

“We had a list of different compounds, and we tested them to see if any of them inhibited” the enzyme that metabolizes acetaldehyde, Waterhouse said. “One of them, quercetin, was a very good inhibitor. That really got our attention.”

This led the team to theorize that RWH may occur after quercetin found in wine leads to a build-up of acetaldehyde.

Researchers have long surmised what causes RWH. Some researchers previously believed that histamines—compounds involved in the immune response—found inred winecould trigger headaches. However, multiple research papers published in the early 2000s disproved this theory.

Sulfites—compounds that are found in a vast number of foods and drinks—were also thought to be the culprit.“The general problem with that [theory] is that white wine usually has more sulfites than red,” Waterhouse said.

Lastly, many researchers have suggested phenolic compounds called “tannins” may be to blame. “Phenolics are the primary suspect, but nobody has any theories,” Waterhouse said. “There really was no sound theory; there was just a lot of speculation.”

To determine whether quercetin is to blame, future research should involve people trying red wines with varying amounts of quercetin, Waterhouse said. If they’re more likely to develop a headache after drinking wines high in quercetin, that could be a sign that quercetin is to blame.

How Headaches Are Treated

Are Certain Red Wines Less Likely to Cause Headaches?

But researchers do know one factor that influences how much quercetin is found in red wine. “It appears to be related to the amount of sun exposure the grapes get in the vineyard,” Waterhouse said. “The practical implication of that is that less expensive red wines probably have lower levels than expensive ones. Really high-quality wines, generally speaking, have high levels of quercetin.”

What to Do If You’re Prone to Red Wine Headaches

“As the holidays are coming around, this comes up a lot at my clinic because people really enjoy having a glass of red wine,” Pace said. And people who havemigrainesare generally more prone to RWH, she added.

The advice she gives them depends on the severity of their RWH, Pace explained. For people who always have a headache after drinking red wine, she suggests they may simply want to avoid drinking red wine. “If it’s a pretty consistent relationship, where every time a person has red wine they will get a headache,” it may not be worth it, Pace explained.

For people who don’t always suffer from RWH—but sometimes do—Pace recommends strictly adhering to certain headache-prevention behaviors before and after drinking red wine.

If they’re just a little more vulnerable, I’ll say maybe that’s a day when you want to be extra mindful of getting enough water, getting good sleep, [and] eating three meals that day.—ANNA PACE, MD

If they’re just a little more vulnerable, I’ll say maybe that’s a day when you want to be extra mindful of getting enough water, getting good sleep, [and] eating three meals that day.

—ANNA PACE, MD

Other lifestyle habits that can help prevent headaches, in general, include exercising regularly and reducing stress, Pace added.

You should also be mindful of how much you’re drinking, as drinking too much of any kind of alcohol can result in a headache that isn’t specifically an RWH, Pace said.

Red Wine and Cancer

How to Get Rid of Red Wine Headaches

If you try the above techniques but still develop a red wine headache, consider what headache remedies have worked for you in the past. “If you get [a RWH], use the tools you have to get rid of it,” Pace said.

Many people use over-the-counter medications—like aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen—to treat their headaches.

Taking other precautions may keep you comfortable until your headache resolves. These include staying in a dark space if you feel especially sensitive to light and keeping your space quiet if you feel especially sensitive to noise.

As with any health problem, if your RWH persists, you should seek medical help, Pace said. If you find yourself experiencing headaches often, it’s worth making an appointment with a headache specialist, she added.

What This Means For YouRed wine headaches can occur soon after drinking small amounts of wine—for example, just half an hour after drinking one glass. Though researchers have a new theory as to what causes red wine headaches, it’s too soon to say whether certain types of red wine may be more likely to cause headaches. If you experience headaches from any triggers, including red wine, often, it’s worth seeking help from a headache specialist, who can advise you on treatment options.

What This Means For You

Red wine headaches can occur soon after drinking small amounts of wine—for example, just half an hour after drinking one glass. Though researchers have a new theory as to what causes red wine headaches, it’s too soon to say whether certain types of red wine may be more likely to cause headaches. If you experience headaches from any triggers, including red wine, often, it’s worth seeking help from a headache specialist, who can advise you on treatment options.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Alcohol flush reaction.

Peatfield RC, Fletcher G, Rhodes K, Gardiner IM, de Belleroche J.Pharmacological analysis of red-wine-induced migrainous headaches.J Headache Pain. 2003;4(1):18-23. doi:10.1007/s101940300023

Kanny G, Gerbaux V, Olszewski A, et al.No correlation between wine intolerance and histamine content of wine.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2001;107(2):375-378. doi:10.1067/mai.2001.112122

Vally H, Misso NL.Adverse reactions to the sulphite additives.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2012;5(1):16-23.

National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Managing tension headaches at home.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Headache.

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