Following more awareness that are being done on health, people go gluten free either to generally feel healthier, boost their energy, lose weight or to treat autism.
While this is a good decision, it does not necessarily mean that you should also quit drinking on social events and while having fun. If you are a wine lover especially, all you need to do is find gluten free alcoholic beverages since there is a variety to choose from.
Because most wines are made from grapes that ideally don’t have gluten, in almost every case, wine is considered to be gluten free with a few exceptions of course. Wine is generally safe to drink if you are avoiding gluten but there are some few exceptions because there are some aspects of the process of making wine that usually introduce some gluten to the final product.
To avoid accidental gluten exposure or the gluttening, it is important to know the type of wine you are partaking and the process used before the final product.
The Ways Wine Ends Up Containing Gluten
For mostly those people who are very sensitive to gluten cross-contamination, they may occasionally find themselves reacting to some wines despite the fact that the wines do not have any additives. It is important to note that there are so many ways gluten can sneak into certain wines so the reaction in most cases is legit. In some usual cases, the wine makers sneak in a few products that remove particles with the intention of making wine exceptionally clear. They will then use wheat gluten as a clarifying or fining agent to achieve that.
Although uncommon, it is possible for the fining agents to have some gluten. In this case, the wine maker is not obligated to disclose that on the label making it hard to tell for sure. Their fining agents are usually made from many substances like egg whites, clay and even shells of crustaceans. That said, people who are allergic to certain foods should always watch out for what wine they take.
In some cases, gluten may sneak into the wine from the wheat paste that is used by the wine maker to seal wooden wine casks that essentially age the wine. The ageing process of wine can introduce some ingredients that contain gluten. Some winemakers use wheat paste to seal the oak barrels and flour for ageing.
It is important to note that the gluten gotten from fining agents or from the wooden vast is very tiny and sometimes very insignificant that one can barely notice. It is small that even the most sensitive gluten testing methods will barely detect its presence.
Some wine cooler contain Gluten
For so many people, they are convinced that wine coolers are indeed wine products. These wine coolers contain so many ingredients and some of their ingredients could possibly have the gluten.
Some brands of wine coolers that have gluten that is in the form of barley malt include;
Seagrams
Bartles & Jaymes
Boone’s Farm
Bacardi- the silver malt variety
More information found at link below.
What Alcohol Can I Drink Now That I Am Gluten-Free?
Is There a Difference Between Gluten Content in Red and White Wine?
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Since both red wine and white wine are both made from grapes, the only difference being the type of grapes used, there is no difference. The general ways that gluten finds itself in wine applies to both the red wines and white wine. The process of making white and red wine also varies with different winemakers and hence can sometimes introduce gluten more to the red wine.
How to Get Red and White Wines That Are Gluten-Free?
It is advisable that to be safe, once you get a particular wine you love and have tried it and you are sure it does not have gluten, then you can always buy the same wine to avoid risking.
There is a variety of wines that are usually aged in stainless steel casks. By going with the stainless steel casks, you eliminate the problem of wheat paste that is used to seal casks that are made from wood.
Lastly, you can always get in touch with individual vineyards and find out which fining agents they use. The good news is that since more people are not embracing the gluten free diet, most vineyards are not drifting more to become gluten sensitive to their clientele hence can clearly advise which fining agents they use.
Verdict
It is safe to say that most wines are gluten free but there are many other that may contain gluten though insignificant. The best way to find out which ones have gluten is to ask the manufacturers and be careful to read the labels.
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