Why can’t I drink red wine anymore, is there a solution.

[floridagal]

Red wine now gives me the worst weirdest headache thing on the edge of my scalp that I no longer drink it. I miss it especially on cooler evenings. Help!

[DocBuzzkill]

Bradenton!BFF experienced something similar and now drinks mostly white wine with a glass of red on very rare occasions.  He had no problems with red wine when he lived in the Boston area.  Therefore, I can only conclude it's a symptom of living in Florida!

Seriously, I have experienced more issues with red wine as I have aged.  Not all red wines do this, but sometimes even a single glass will wake me up in the middle of the night with a racing heart.  There are a lot of congeners in red wine that can trigger weird stuff. 

Your best bet may be to switch to whites, then gradually try different varietals of reds (one glass at a time) to see if all reds trigger your headaches or if there are certain types that do.

[floridagal]

Ong, I forgot about the racing heart!

I didn’t know if maybe a decanter would help...or buying more expensive?!!

Thanks for the advice.

[Run Amok]

Go to Italy!

Seriously,  red wine is dangerous for me in the states but I didn't have the same issue in Italy. 

[radial]

Go to Italy!

Seriously,  red wine is dangerous for me in the states but I didn't have the same issue in Italy.

True!  If I ever start drinking again, it will be in Italy. 

[caribougrrl]

I have become more sensitive to tannins as I've gotten older. Also, red wines seem to typically be trending higher and higher in alcohol by volume.

I love red wine and am not prepared to completely switch to white. What I find works pretty well:
- stick to low-tannin reds like pinot noir, gamay, valpolicella, malbec, etc.
- stay away from high-end designations, which are often higher in tannin than the lower-end same varietal because of re-contact or other methods that are meant to build tannin (like I can drink rioja crianza, but not rioja reserva; I can drink valpoicellas, as long as I avoid the ripasso style)
- stay away from anything that is oak aged for any amount of time (this applies to whites for me as well... no oak, period)... so, despite being low tannin, malbec is difficult because it's almost always oak aged... any time the description of the wine includes "toast" or "vanilla", I put it back on the shelf
- stick to lower alcohol content wine generally, when possible (I am always looking for red wines in the 11.5-12.5%ABV range... not easy to find... and can change with the vintage year... I do buy wines, especially california pinot noirs, in the 13-14%ABV range, because the options are just way more limited in the lower ABV range)

[floridagal]

I have become more sensitive to tannins as I've gotten older. Also, red wines seem to typically be trending higher and higher in alcohol by volume.

I love red wine and am not prepared to completely switch to white. What I find works pretty well:
- stick to low-tannin reds like pinot noir, gamay, valpolicella, malbec, etc.
- stay away from high-end designations, which are often higher in tannin than the lower-end same varietal because of re-contact or other methods that are meant to build tannin (like I can drink rioja crianza, but not rioja reserva; I can drink valpoicellas, as long as I avoid the ripasso style)
- stay away from anything that is oak aged for any amount of time (this applies to whites for me as well... no oak, period)... so, despite being low tannin, malbec is difficult because it's almost always oak aged... any time the description of the wine includes "toast" or "vanilla", I put it back on the shelf
- stick to lower alcohol content wine generally, when possible (I am always looking for red wines in the 11.5-12.5%ABV range... not easy to find... and can change with the vintage year... I do buy wines, especially california pinot noirs, in the 13-14%ABV range, because the options are just way more limited in the lower ABV range)

Thanks so much. You have done a great deal of research.

[picote]

Thanks so much. You have done a great deal of research.

I admire her dedication to keep drinking the red wine!!

[Miss]

I was having trouble with even one glass of red wine too and I switched to Ziobaffa which is an Italian organic wine.  No issues anymore!   

[floridagal]

I was having trouble with even one glass of red wine too and I switched to Ziobaffa which is an Italian organic wine.  No issues anymore!   

Ooooh!

[Miss]

Ooooh!

https://www.wine.com/product/ziobaffa-organic-toscana-2015/633461#    (I buy it for $10.99 at the corner package store in RI)