Have you ever had a headache or felt a sense of malaise after drinking a glass or two of wine and thought it was due to the use of sulphur dioxide as a preservative in the wine? You’ve probably heard it before - a lot of people say that sulphur gives them headaches. But what if something else was at play?

If you believe you are sensitive to sulphur dioxide, you could be right…or you could be dehydrated (and we think this is more likely to be honest). Dehydration and overconsumption tend to be the primary reason that consumers feel less than great after drinking wine.

But there could be another reason too.

You might be feeling unwell due to the presence of biogenic amines in the wine you’ve been drinking. While this is not a prolific issue by any stretch, it is only worth understanding before deciding that sulphur is bad and therefore wine is bad too. Read on to learn more.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS INTENDED TO BE MORE ACCESSIBLE IN ITS APPROACH AND ORIENTATION. SOURCES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED FOR FURTHER, IN-DEPTH READING BY INTERESTED PARTIES.

What Are Biogenic Amines?

Biogenic amines are a class of small nitrogen containing organic compounds that are formed during the fermentation process in fermented foods, such as cheese, fermented sausage, pickled vegetables and fermented beverages (beer, cider and wine). Up to 10 different biogenic amines can occur in these products due to the plethora of organic acids that are present in these foods/beverages. Biogenic amines form from a chemical reaction that occurs (specifically the decarboxylation of) in relation to certain of these amino acids.

Biogenic amines, whether in wine or otherwise, are not a new topic. Biogenic amines are in fact an important part of the natural world. Outside of their presence in fermented foods, they are also naturally occurring compounds in animals, including humans. Researchers have been doing work to understand and control them for quite some time.

Major Biogenic Amines in Wine

Histamine
Tyramine
Cadaverine
Putrescine

What ultimately forms is based on what amino acid precursors are available….and what bacteria are around to act on the precurors. Histamine and tyramine are considered to be the most toxic to humans.

So What?

For most of the general population, the presence of biogenic amines in food and drinks is a not an issue. These compounds are a normal part of human functioning including neurotransmission, immune response, respiratory function etc. and they are usually metabolized relatively efficiently. However, researchers have found that the presence of ethanol in wine may interfere with the normal metabolism process for some sensitive individuals and furthermore, for others, these compounds have the potential to cause allergy-type reaction. This is particularly true of histamine.

For sensitive individuals, symptoms can include nausea, hot flashes, headaches, facial flushing and respiratory distress.

Interestingly, beyond individual reactions in sensitive consumers, the presence of biogenic amines has been found to cause a reduction in overall wine aroma, resulting in wines with less or little varietal character. At high levels, biogenic amines can actually contribute their own negative odours, resulting in wines that are described as “mousy”, “meaty” or “sweaty”.

Given these widely impactful outcomes, the presence of a biogenic amines above a minimum threshold is generally considered a wine fault.

What Causes the Presence of Biogenic Amines?

Wine is the result of myriad chemical reactions and the actions of different microbial organisms, chiefly yeast and bacteria.

Very simply put, wine is derived from the action of fermentative yeasts, as they metabolize sugars and nutrients that are present in grapes and produce ethanol. The primary fermentative yeast in wine is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, though other forms of yeast can be present too. Researchers have found that some yeast strains may contribute to amine production, however this is not a material source of these compounds.

In fact, it is wine bacteria that significantly contribute to a wine’s biogenic amine content. Biogenic amines are mainly formed by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) belonging to the Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Oenococcus species. These are the same bacteria that undertake the malolactic fermentation (MLF) process in wines. It must be noted that not all the strains within these species have the capacity to produce biogenic amines - whether they do or not depends on their DNA (for the scientifically minded reader - it depends on the presence or absence of amino acid decarboxylases in their genetic makeup). Because the ability to generate these compounds is not fixed, those strains that produce biogenic amines are considered spoilage organisms.

Global warming, higher pH musts, no/low SO2 strategies and water stress in the vineyards are all conditions that promote the development of spoilage microorganisms that produce biogenic amines and in turn, increase risk of wine contamination from this source.

The risk is higher in red wines than in white or rosé wines, because the former almost always undergo malolactic fermentation while the latter styles often do not.

What Can Be Done to Limit Biogenic Amines?

The potential for biogenic amine production exists at all phases of the winemaking process - from the grape/must phase through to the final bottled wine. As noted above, the risk is thought to be highest during the malolactic fermentation phase. At at stages, the risk is highly dependant on the presence of the specific organisms that are capable of producing these compounds.

However, biogenic amine contamination is not a forgone conclusion. While there might always be trace amounts in a wine, there are definite measures that can be taken in the vineyard and the winery to limit risk and impact.

In the vineyard, taking measures to control spoilage organisms is helpful. For example, maintaining good air flow, not over-fertilizing and ensuring adequate water supply can be helpful.

However, most experts seem to agree that first and foremost in the arsenal is the use of sulphur dioxide during winemaking to limit the proliferation and action of biogenic amine generating bacteria. Perhaps this cannot be stressed enough - sulphur dioxide is actually a key tool in limiting the impact to humans of this spoilage source. In other words, it is helpful, not harmful!

Additionally, proper management of the malolactic fermentation is also very important. This is accomplished via:

complete and thorough cellar sanitation;
good wine pH management;
use of sulphur dioxide in carefully measured quantities throughout the MLF process;
inoculation/co-inoculation with selected MLF bacteria strains, known to not be able to produce biogenic amines. Co-inoculation has the added benefit that the wine can be stabilized quickly and will also reduce the risk of biogenic amine production during the steps prior to bottling.

Where biogenic amines are present, or the risk of development post-MLF is thought to be high, producers can use certain natural products such as chitosan to deal with the issue. Note that this does require the addition of “additives” to the wine, as does the addition of sulphur dioxide.

What Can Consumers Do?

For most consumer, the presence of biogenic amines in their wine is a non-issue. But for some, it is a serious impediment to enjoying wine. If you are in the latter camp, there are a few things you can do.

While there is currently a lot of interest in low intervention, natural, organic and biodynamic wines, no added sulphur regimes do significantly increase the risk of biogenic amine production. This is not to say that these wines are bad - not at all. Rather, if you know you sometimes don’t feel well after consuming wine, you can monitor your reaction and see if it is worse when you drink wines where sulphur dioxide HAS NOT been added.

Given the importance of hygiene and good production monitoring and management techniques, drinking wines made by trusted producers who take great care in maintaining quality and minimizing risk is also a sound strategy.

Presently there are no legally regulated biogenic amine limits for wine in any country, though some countries do have recommended upper limits, but for histamine only. So, it really is up to the consumer to understand and manage this risk for themselves if they are in the portion of the population that bears a sensitivity.

The Bottom Line

The presence of biogenic amines in wine as a risk factor is not something that many consumers are aware of. To be fair, this may not be a material issue for most consumers; however, for some, it is an important matter. For this population, education and awareness is key - and choosing the right wine, made the right way, can make a difference. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, consider reading the materials below, all of which were used as research for this article.

SOURCES:

Lallemand Thought Piece (great for wine producers): https://admin.lallemandwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/WE-Biogenic-Amines-ENG.pdf

An excellent, in-depth review of scientific literature and research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996924006288

A quick primer by ETS Labs (more producer centric, but still a good consumer resource/summary): https://www.etslabs.com/publications/publication/12