Tannin in wine - headaches

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Alaskajohn

Alaskajohn

Bugged out
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2020
Messages
2,923
Location
Alaska
Over the years I have drank a lot of fancy wine with tannin, typically the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that have high tannin content with no effect. My wife would get headaches, but at the time they never bothered me. About 5 years ago I retired from a job where I had to entertain a lot, and I haven't really had much opportunity to drink that fancy stuff since then. A few weeks ago when I was in town I splurged on a nice aged steak and got a nice bottle of a napa Cabernet Sauvignon. With just two nice glasses of wine I woke up the next morning with a headache. Not sure if it was the wine, the next night I had one nice glass and woke up the next morning with a headache.

Fortunately, I don't make the money like I used to, so I won't be buying the fancy wine and I will stick to the more modestly priced red blend without the tannins. So problem solved.

Any thoughts why I might be developing an intolerance to tannins somewhere after my 60th birthday? On the grand scheme of things this is easy to solve by not consuming what causes a problem, but I am curious to why this developed at this stage and wonder if there is something more to a sudden intolerance of tannins?
 
In my youth I never got hangovers. A fifth of scotch every night and never a hangover. That might be part of it.

This time of year you live in a low humidity environment which tends to dry you out. Alcohol also dries you out. Being dehydrated can cause a headache. My uncle and cousin both had migraines which they treated with copious amounts of water, and did so successfully.
 
Caribou said:
In my youth I never got hangovers. A fifth of scotch every night and never a hangover. That might be part of it.

This time of year you live in a low humidity environment which tends to dry you out. Alcohol also dries you out. Being dehydrated can cause a headache. My uncle and cousin both had migraines which they treated with copious amounts of water, and did so successfully.
Click to expand...

This is an issue with wine that has tannin. Other alcohol doesn't do this.
 
Alaskajohn said:
Over the years I have drank a lot of fancy wine with tannin, typically the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that have high tannin content with no effect. My wife would get headaches, but at the time they never bothered me. About 5 years ago I retired from a job where I had to entertain a lot, and I haven't really had much opportunity to drink that fancy stuff since then. A few weeks ago when I was in town I splurged on a nice aged steak and got a nice bottle of a napa Cabernet Sauvignon. With just two nice glasses of wine I woke up the next morning with a headache. Not sure if it was the wine, the next night I had one nice glass and woke up the next morning with a headache.

Fortunately, I don't make the money like I used to, so I won't be buying the fancy wine and I will stick to the more modestly priced red blend without the tannins. So problem solved.

Any thoughts why I might be developing an intolerance to tannins somewhere after my 60th birthday? On the grand scheme of things this is easy to solve by not consuming what causes a problem, but I am curious to why this developed at this stage and wonder if there is something more to a sudden intolerance of tannins?
Click to expand...
We are in wine country too. I don't think it's just the tannins. The grapes are no longer organic (like a lot of sprays) and the process is not what it used to be. I am far from an expert (waaaay far away from it.) but I've had a local wine that was done "the old way" whole cluster crush etc & it's definitely different. I can only do about 1 glass of wine and not very often. I will put the link to the cellars that has the whole crush. I don't know if they do the modern method too so would verify before purchasing (because it's not cheap!) But for a treat. . .
https://www.dilloncellars.com/home
 
LadyLocust said:
We are in wine country too. I don't think it's just the tannins. The grapes are no longer organic (like a lot of sprays) and the process is not what it used to be. I am far from an expert (waaaay far away from it.) but I've had a local wine that was done "the old way" whole cluster crush etc & it's definitely different. I can only do about 1 glass of wine and not very often. I will put the link to the cellars that has the whole crush. I don't know if they do the modern method too so would verify before purchasing (because it's not cheap!) But for a treat. . .
https://www.dilloncellars.com/home
Click to expand...

I drink wine without any issue (except for those with high tannin content).
 
It is my understanding that some persons drink white wine, because they have less of the headaches, unless you drink many glasses of wine.

 
Red wine tends to have more tannins than white, some quite a bit. Had your liver checked lately? Livers don't handle tannins well, and with age they don't work as well as in our youth.

Also, some green tea's are high in tannin's. Quick test or check, see if a couple glasses of green tea make you feel the same.
 
Peanut said:
Red wine tends to have more tannins than white, some quite a bit. Had your liver checked lately? Livers don't handle tannins well, and with age they don't work as well as in our youth.

Also, some green tea's are high in tannin's. Quick test or check, see if a couple glasses of green tea make you feel the same.
Click to expand...
I never had a problem with green tea, but I drink more ice tea then any other tea.
 
Peanut said:
Red wine tends to have more tannins than white, some quite a bit. Had your liver checked lately? Livers don't handle tannins well, and with age they don't work as well as in our youth.

Also, some green tea's are high in tannin's. Quick test or check, see if a couple glasses of green tea make you feel the same.
Click to expand...

I do drink green tea, but not as much these past few years as most of the tea I drink is chaga.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top