Wine and Gluten-free Diet

Gluten-free diet has already become a kind of life fashion in America and European countries in recent years. But for some people who are allergic to gluten, a gluten-free diet is more than the pursuit of fashion, it is a necessary practice related to life and health. For wine lovers who are allergic to gluten, what is the most important thing they want to know is whether the wine contains gluten or not?

“Gluten” refers to a protein contained in cereals, especially wheat. So in simple terms, regardless of whether or not the wine has a flavor reminiscent of cereals, it is theoretically a “gluten-free” drink — because its raw material is grapes.

According to food hygiene laws in the United Kingdom and the United States, if the alcohol contains more than 20 parts per million of gluten, producers must mark the gluten content on the label to alert consumers. The reason for this is that, like sulfides, gluten is a potential allergen. The vast majority of wines produced by wineries in the world contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten, so they can be labeled “gluten-free” on the wine labels.

Under what circumstances can gluten contaminate wine?

Both the aging and the filtration process can cause gluten to enter the wine. But the amount of these gluten is very small, and it will not reach a harmful level. For most consumers suffering from coeliac disease, they can drink it with peace of mind.

According to Michael Apstein, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, if winemakers use flour paste to seal oak barrels during the wine aging process, it may lead to gluten contamination. But he also pointed out that this practice is now rare, because most winemakers now use paraffin to seal barrels.

In addition to aging the filtration process can also cause gluten contamination in wines. As we know, the main purpose of filtration is to remove impurities and make wine clear. Therefore, a certain amount of clarifying agent should be added in this process.

“The most common clarifying agents used in winemaking are gelatin and fish gelatin. But because these two contain animal ingredients, this is a problem for vegetarian consumers”, said Apstein.

To cater for the needs of vegetarians, winemakers begin to choose cereal protein as a clarifying agent (such as wheat protein). And to remove grain proteins, they need to be separated by centrifugation after clarification, which can reduce the gluten content below harmful values. However, these cereal clarifiers are not really popular because they are expensive and still have the risk of sensitizing people with gluten intolerance.

In short, although wine can be generally regarded as a “gluten-free” drink, each country has different food safety regulations and different levels of control over allergens during the production process, so consumers who are allergic to gluten must know the gluten content of the wine they purchase in detail when purchasing wine. In addition, for patients with extremely sensitive coeliac disease (including refractory coeliac disease), gluten content below 20 parts per 100,000 may also cause adverse symptoms. Therefore, although wine is not a “high-risk” drink, it must be careful for sensitive patients.

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References

Free Alcohol & Beer Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.glutenfreesurvivalguide.org/gluten-free-diet-guide/gluten-free-alcohol/.

McCulloch, M. (2019, February 18). Is Wine Gluten-Free? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-wine-gluten-free.

Shanken, M. R. (2018, November 14). Is Wine Gluten-Free? Retrieved from https://www.winespectator.com/articles/is-wine-gluten-free.