Wine: Inspiring Special Moments since 6000 B.C.
Humans have been enjoying the fruits of the vine for centuries. Whether paired with a beautiful sunset, elevating a meal, livening up a social occasion, or its role in religious ceremonies, wine is an integral part of our lives, our history, and our wellbeing.
The Evolution of Wine in the Industrial Age
With the advent of agrochemicals and large-scale automated farming, the focus of the wine industry largely has been more on quantity rather than quality as wine has become big business. The use of pesticides and fungicides in vineyards and automated harvesting and processing of wine grapes have become common practices. While this trend is starting to reverse with small artisan sustainable- farming wine brands, very few of these reach the consumer in retail stores. Studies are showing that additives and excessive processing in wine can adversely affect our health. Now, more than ever, it is important to understand what is in your wine.
Unfortunately, today’s wine labeling standards do not provide the needed information for making informed choices. Levels for histamines, sulfites, and testing for pesticides has not been adopted as a standard practice. In fact, other than the sulfite warning, alcohol content, and wine origin, the contents in your wine glass is a bit of a black box. When considering wine and wellbeing, just as we have become astute shoppers for farm fresh and organic groceries, we must now become mindful of the quality of wine that we put in our bodies.
For Sol Rei Wines, we have an uncompromising commitment to low histamines, low sulfites, and zero trace pesticides. All our wines are tested by an independent third-party laboratory to contain less than 1 mg/l histamines, less than 100 mg/l sulfites, and zero trace pesticides.
Common Ranges of Wine Histamines
As a basis of comparison, here are common ranges of histamines in wine available on the market today (1):
White wine: 3-120 mg/l
Red wine: 60-3800 mg/l
Champagne: 15-670 mg/l
Histamines - One Size (or level) Does not Fit All
Keep in mind though, despite >1mg/l being a very low level of histamines for wine, for some of you, that might still be too high for your bodies to tolerate. And considering food also has histamines, you may trigger a histamine reaction from the combination of what you eat and drink. Because of this, your medical professional should be your primary source of information - especially if you have allergies or other conditions such as asthma.
On a personal note, given my sensitivity to histamines, when it comes to drinking wine, I routinely practice "Listen to your body and mind. Know what is going on". If I am in doubt of the quality of the wine and level of histamines, I don't drink it. It is not worth triggering a reaction.
Best wishes that you find your balance for optimal wellbeing,
Kate
