Is white wine high in histamine?
White wine is moderate on a low-histamine diet: 83 white wines averaged 1.24 mg/L, a third of red wine's level, but the alcohol slows histamine breakdown and all 10 published diets exclude wine.
- Histamine
- Present
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- Possible
Why sources disagree. White wine had the lowest histamine of the wines measured, averaging 1.24 mg/L, but all ten published diets exclude wine, and its alcohol slows histamine breakdown just as red wine's does.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, 2020 review 1 | Measured | Histamine in all 83 white wines; average 1.24 mg/L, median 0.45, highest 13.00. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | All 10 exclude wine; the chart does not separate white from red. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2021 2 | Alcohol and acetaldehyde compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, so histamine accumulates. | |
| Review of histamine intolerance, 2020 1 | DAO deficiency can be temporary and reversible, caused by substances that include alcohol. | |
| Review of amines in beverages, 2022 3 | The bacterial (malolactic) fermentation that favours amines is short or absent in white wine production. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| White wine 1 (Table 1, row "White wine") | 83 | mean 1.24 mg/L, range 0.1–13 mg/L | median 0.45 mg/L; standard deviation 1.69 |
| Wine sold in Spain, all colours (group) 2 (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 |
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
Histamine in white wine forms during winemaking and is in the bottle when you buy it; our sources did not follow it during storage or after opening. Most white wines had very little, but the highest reached 13.00 mg/L, so a single bottle can be well above the median. Histamine is heat-stable, so cooking with white wine does not remove it.
Averaged 1.24 mg/L in 83 wines; median 0.45; up to 13.00. (measured)
Not measured separately; it is wine, and the alcohol effect is the same. (estimate)
Why we rate white wine 2
If you are choosing between wines, white is the one with less histamine in the studies we use. A 2020 review from a University of Barcelona team reports 83 white wines with an average of 1.24 mg/L and a median of 0.45 mg/L, so half of them had less than half a milligram per litre. Red wine, in the same table, averaged 3.81 mg/L across 260 samples. Histamine was present in every white wine, though, from 0.10 mg/L at the bottom to 13.00 mg/L at the top, and that top figure is higher than the average red.
The difference comes from how the wines are made. A 2022 review of amines in drinks explains that red wine sits on the grape skins during fermentation, which adds free amino acids, and is fermented warmer. Red wine also goes through malolactic fermentation, a bacterial step in which amines such as histamine can form. In white wine production that step is short or skipped. Neither review gives figures for rosé or for dessert wines, and neither ranks grape varieties.
The lower histamine does not make white wine a low-histamine drink, because the alcohol is unchanged. The 2021 review explains that alcohol and its breakdown product, acetaldehyde, compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, an enzyme the body needs for both, so histamine accumulates. The 2020 review lists alcohol among the causes of a temporary, reversible DAO deficiency, meaning the gut enzyme that clears histamine from food works less well for a while. All ten published diets in the 2021 review exclude wine of every colour.
We rate white wine 2, "moderate", and mark it disputed. Histamine was found in every sample, which puts it at 2 on our scale even at these low amounts, and the alcohol is the stronger reason for caution. If your dietitian agrees to a trial after an elimination phase, white wine is the lower-histamine choice, but bottles vary and one glass carries the same alcohol as any other.
Questions about white wine and histamine
Is white wine low in histamine?
Lower than red, not low. 83 white wines averaged 1.24 mg/L with a median of 0.45 mg/L, against 3.81 mg/L for red. Histamine was found in every sample, and the alcohol slows histamine breakdown in the same way.
Is rosé lower in histamine than red wine?
Rosé was not measured separately in the studies we use, so we cannot say. It is treated as wine on this site, rated 2 as an estimate.
Evidence behind this page
- Across 83 white wines, histamine averaged 1.24 mg/L (standard deviation 1.69), with a median of 0.45 mg/L, a lowest value of 0.10 and a highest of 13.00 mg/L. 1
- Red wine averaged 3.81 mg/L across 260 samples, with a median of 1.90 mg/L. 1
- Grape-skin maceration, warmer fermentation and malolactic fermentation explain higher amine formation in red wine; in white wine production malolactic fermentation is short or absent. 3
- Alcohol and acetaldehyde compete with histamine for aldehyde dehydrogenase, resulting in histamine accumulating in the body. 2
- DAO deficiency can be a temporary and reversible condition caused by the inhibitory effect of substances such as biogenic amines and alcohol. 1
- All ten published low-histamine diets exclude wine. 2
Sources
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)