Is sparkling wine high in histamine?
Sparkling wine is moderate in histamine as far as we can tell: it was not measured separately, but 299 wines averaged 3.63 mg/L, and the alcohol slows histamine breakdown. All 10 published diets exclude wine.
- Histamine
- Present
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- Possible
Why sources disagree. Sparkling wine itself was not measured. Wine as a whole averaged 3.63 mg/L of histamine, moderate on our scale, while all ten published diets exclude wine and the alcohol slows histamine breakdown.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | Wine as a group had histamine in all 299 samples, averaging 3.63 mg/L; sparkling wine was not reported separately. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | All 10 exclude wine. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2021 1 | Alcohol and acetaldehyde compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, so histamine accumulates. | |
| Review of histamine intolerance, 2020 2 | DAO deficiency can be temporary and reversible, caused by substances that include alcohol. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine sold in Spain (group) 1 (Table 1, row "Wine") | 299 | mean 3.63 mg/L, range 0.09–34.25 mg/L, 95th percentile 12.3 mg/L | tyramine mean 2.42 mg/L (up to 15.85); putrescine and cadaverine not detected |
| White wine (group) 2 (Table 1, row "White wine") | 83 | mean 1.24 mg/L, range 0.1–13 mg/L | median 0.45 mg/L |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food; mg/L = per litre of drink. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Sparkling wine is made from a finished base wine that is fermented a second time to make the bubbles, so any histamine forms during production and is in the bottle when you buy it. Our sources did not measure it, or follow it after opening.
Not measured separately; rated with wine as a group. (estimate)
Not measured; rated with wine as a group. (estimate)
Why we rate sparkling wine 2
Prosecco, champagne and cava are wines, and the studies we use measured wine but did not single out sparkling wine. This page is therefore built on the figures for wine as a group, and it says so throughout.
Those figures come from a University of Barcelona team. Across 299 wines sold in Spain, every sample had some histamine, the average was 3.63 mg/L, 95% had 12.3 mg/L or less, and the highest had 34.25 mg/L. The team's 2020 review split wine by colour: 83 white wines averaged 1.24 mg/L and 260 reds 3.81 mg/L. Which of those figures a given sparkling wine is closer to depends on how it was made, and the data cannot tell us, so we use the overall wine figure.
What we can say from the process is limited. A 2022 review of amines in drinks names the yeast fermentation and the later bacterial (malolactic) fermentation as the main stages at which amines form in wine. Sparkling wine adds a second yeast fermentation to make the bubbles, in the bottle for champagne and cava, or in a pressurised tank for most prosecco. None of our sources measured what that second fermentation does to histamine, so we do not claim that it raises or lowers it, and we cannot rank champagne against prosecco.
The alcohol is the same concern as with any wine. The 2021 review explains that alcohol and acetaldehyde compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, so histamine builds up, and the 2020 review lists alcohol among the causes of a temporary, reversible DAO deficiency. All ten published low-histamine diets exclude wine.
We rate sparkling wine 2, "moderate", as an estimate from the wine data, and mark it disputed because the lists are unanimous while the histamine figures are moderate. A glass of fizz at a celebration carries the same alcohol effect as a glass of still wine. For a toast, a non-alcoholic drink avoids the alcohol effect, although its own histamine depends on what it is made from.
Questions about sparkling wine and histamine
Is prosecco low in histamine?
Prosecco was not measured in the studies we use. Wine as a group averaged 3.63 mg/L and white wine 1.24 mg/L, and the alcohol slows histamine breakdown, so we rate it 2 as an estimate.
Is champagne lower in histamine than red wine?
The studies we use cannot answer that: champagne was not measured. White wine averaged 1.24 mg/L and red wine 3.81 mg/L, and both carry the same alcohol effect, so we rate champagne 2 as an estimate, like wine.
Evidence behind this page
- Across 299 wines sold in Spain, histamine averaged 3.63 mg/L, 95% of samples had 12.3 mg/L or less, and the range was 0.09 to 34.25 mg/L; the table does not report sparkling wine separately. 1
- White wine averaged 1.24 mg/L of histamine across 83 samples, and red wine 3.81 mg/L across 260. 2
- The alcoholic fermentation by yeasts and the bacterial malolactic fermentation are the main processes favouring amine formation in wine. 4
- Alcohol and acetaldehyde compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, resulting in histamine accumulating in the body. 1
- DAO deficiency can be a temporary and reversible condition caused by the inhibitory effect of substances such as biogenic amines and alcohol. 2
- All ten published low-histamine diets exclude wine. 1
Sources
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)
- Visciano P, Schirone M. Update on Biogenic Amines in Fermented and Non-Fermented Beverages. Foods 11(3):353, 2022. doi:10.3390/foods11030353 (Visciano P et al. 2022)