Overview

• Red wine headaches, or RWH, are a common phenomenon that can occur within 30 minutes to three hours after consuming red wine.
• Previously, sulfites, phenolics, biogenic amines, and tannins found in red wine were suspected to cause headaches, but recent research suggests a different compound might be responsible: quercetin-3-glucoronid.
• Quercetin-3-glucoronid, a flavonol found in fruits and vegetables including grapes, can inhibit the enzyme acetaldehyde dehyrdogenase, which is crucial for metabolizing alcohol. This inhibition can lead to a build-up of acetaldehyde, causing headaches.
• The amount of quercetin varies in wines, primarily due to the level of sunlight affecting the grape's quercetin production. Lower-quality wines tend to have less quercetin and thus may cause fewer headaches.
• A small human clinical trial is in the works at UCSF to fully test out whether quercetin leads to more headaches in people.