Why does red wine make me overheat?

January 5, 2006 7:23 AM

Why does red wine make me overheat?

I can (and do) drink virtually anything will little to no ill effects. Bourbon is my drink of choice. But when I drink red wine, I get uncomfortably, break out into a sweat, hot. I don't "flush" or get red faced. I get all over hot.

No problem with white wine, beer, virtually any other form of alcoholic beverage. What's going on?

posted by cptnrandy to food & drink (15 comments total)

Maybe it's romance you're feeling?
posted by jon_kill at 7:37 AM on January 5, 2006

I have no answer, but I just want to say that the same thing happens to me and I've wondered why, as well. Someone once told me it was the sulfites, but there are sulfites in white wine, too. And I don't have a problem with white wine. I look forward to other responses.
posted by evoo at 7:40 AM on January 5, 2006

does tea have the same effect?
posted by andrew cooke at 7:41 AM on January 5, 2006

An allergy to something in red wine perhaps? Sulfites, tannins, histamines, prostaglandins? IANAD, this is just a guess after some quick googling.
posted by antifuse at 7:43 AM on January 5, 2006

In fact, white wines are generally higher in sulfites than red wine. So that's not your problem.

Not to be alarmist, but googling for "red wine flush overheat" turns up a lot of links for rosacea which specifically mention red instead of white wine. I found this quote:

"If you're going to drink wine, the last thing you want is red wine. Go with white instead, " says Dr. Wilkin. The coloring in red wine comes from grape skins, which contain chemicals that contribute to flushing"

This doesn't mean you have rosacea, of course. It just means that red wine has been identified as something that makes people get red in the face and overheat.
posted by bobot at 7:48 AM on January 5, 2006

Could be Red Wine Headache. try aspirin before drinking.
posted by rxrfrx at 7:49 AM on January 5, 2006

Another -- Red Wine Mystery.
posted by ericb at 7:51 AM on January 5, 2006

I used to drink wine. This girl asked me, "Doesn't wine give you a headache?"

"Yeah, eventually, but the first and the middle part are amazing!"

I'm not gonna stop doing something 'cause of what's gonna happen at the end. "Mitch, you want an apple?" "No, eventually it'll be a core."
posted by rxrfrx at 8:13 AM on January 5, 2006

rxrfrx - weird.
posted by shoepal at 8:56 AM on January 5, 2006

Just to chime in -- I have the exact same issue with red wine. The effect is most noticeable if I'm trying to fall asleep. No other kind of alcohol causes the same problem for me.
posted by killdevil at 8:57 AM on January 5, 2006

I'd guess tannins rather than sulfites which is what bobot and andrew were referring to I think.
posted by daver at 9:45 AM on January 5, 2006

No problems with tea or allergies of any kind. And no headache. I just get REALLY hot. And fast.

Now here's some additional info. After it passes, maybe forty-five minutes to an hour, I can continue drinking red wine with no further effects.

And I don't think it's rosacea - I don't have any flushing or skin symptoms. I just get hot.

Glad to hear it's not just me, though.
posted by cptnrandy at 9:55 AM on January 5, 2006

cptnrandy, are you of mostly Asian or Native American background? There's some background here.
posted by zadcat at 10:04 AM on January 5, 2006

Nope - and I had thought about mentioning that in my post.

Mostly Irish, with a bit of German from way back.

Unless Grandma wasn't telling the whole story . . .
posted by cptnrandy at 11:25 AM on January 5, 2006

I get that too -- hot and disproportionately dehydrated. (Ashkenazi Jewish background.)
posted by callmejay at 9:21 PM on January 5, 2006