Is Wine Gluten Free? Does Wine Have Gluten or not?

Sources of wine can be attributed to grapes, berries or plums – all of which are naturally gluten-free. But the question is wine gluten free?

Naturally, wine is gluten free. But brewers might use or adapt some procedures that would have changed it’s safe to drink status.

Ingredients To Have A Look At

Fortified wine which contains distilled alcohol is also gluten free. For aging and storage, wine is stabilized by some agents and preservatives like sulfur dioxide being originally gluten-free. While wine ingredients are gluten-free, contamination by gluten might be possible during processing and storage.

For Your Information

Fining removes unwanted elements from the wine like proteins, plant compounds, yeast to ensure its pure in smell and tastes good, that are then dropped to the bottom for an easy filter. Egg whites, milk protein, and fish protein are all gluten-free fining agents while vegan-friendly fining agents include bentonite clay. When used as a fining agent, gluten largely remains behind as sediment at the bottom of the storage container and are then transferred to bottles. The residual gluten left behind, however, falls below 20 parts per million (ppm) or 0.002%, as set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It’s to be noted that a small category of people affected by celiac disease appears sensitive to trace gluten quantified below 20 ppm where one needs to ask the winery for certified gluten free brands. The Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau allows only gluten-free labeling avoiding cross-contamination during the process.

Wine can be put in different types of containers during aging and storage, where stainless steel has stayed the most popular means of preservation. However, in older practice, oak barrels were used for storage, sealing the top with a slick layer of wheat paste which is not free of gluten. But the risk of possible contamination in the process is relatively low compared to the FDA limit (10 ppm).

Tracing from the past, wine cooler drinks were prepared with less amount of wine and fruit juice, a carbonated beverage, and sugar which were generally gluten free. However, after there has been a significant increase in wine taxation in the United States since 1991, most wine coolers were reformulated as sweet, fruity malt beverages. But again, you have to see malt is made from barley, a gluten-containing grain.

These drinks though labeled as malt coolers or malt beverages can easily be mistaken for wine coolers, harmful for those diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. The best way you can be sure about any wine regarding its nature of composure lies in asking the winery itself for their manufacturing process.

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