Is Wine Aged in Wheat-glued Oak Barrels Gluten-free?

Wine is great. It naturally reduces your odds of getting cancer, it's good for your digestive system, and now I find out it's (mostly) Gluten-free!

As far as the gluten testing, I'm curious to find out what steps you can take to do this. I browsed the link you provided and didn't find a readily-visible process or set of steps. I don't suffer from celiac disease, but I'm sure that someone who does will be interested in a quick way to test their wines at home.

Wine is great. It naturally reduces your odds of getting cancer, it's good for your digestive system, and now I find out it's (mostly) Gluten-free!

 

As far as the gluten testing, I'm curious to find out what steps you can take to do this. I browsed the link you provided and didn't find a readily-visible process or set of steps. I don't suffer from celiac disease, but I'm sure that someone who does will be interested in a quick way to test their wines at home.

ELISA - enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Don't try this at home.

This is a very specialized assay which requires training and skill to perform, not to mention the correct materials including the appropriate material in the specialized plates and a spectrophotometric plate reader to perform.

Then why am I SOOOO sick from a half of a glass???

This article should include the rationale for the TTB's decision on gluten-free labeling. They chose to do so because there is not enough proof that the ELISA test is able to correctly estimate gluten in hydrolyzed products.

Then why am I SOOOO sick from a half of a glass???

 

This article should include the rationale for the TTB's decision on gluten-free labeling. They chose to do so because there is not enough proof that the ELISA test is able to correctly estimate gluten in hydrolyzed products.

Just because the TTB has not approved the R5 Competitive ELISA test for detection of hydrolyzed gluten does not mean it is not effective... they are merely taking a conservative stance. The gluten-free diet has not been approved by the FDA as a treatment for celiac disease... does that mean it doesn't work?

Furthermore, as the article we cited points out, in this particular situation, gluten contamination would come from a non-hydrolyzed source (wheat paste). The sandwich R5 ELISA assay, which is the current standard for gluten testing set by the Codex Alimentarius, would detect any contamination. BOTH tests were used and NEITHER detected anything within their respective detection thresholds.

You could be getting sick from something else entirely, as it's probably not gluten. Have you verified that the wine you're drinking was aged in a barrel? Do you have issues with yeast, sulfites or egg whites (which are often used as a clarifying agent)?

Then why am I SOOOO sick from a half of a glass???

 

This article should include the rationale for the TTB's decision on gluten-free labeling. They chose to do so because there is not enough proof that the ELISA test is able to correctly estimate gluten in hydrolyzed products.

Are you allergic to "Sulfa"?

I am and can't do wine or medications containing "Sulfa"

For the sickly one drinking the half glass: perhaps there are other things that you are having issues with that are in the wine? Could be a number of things, not just gluten.

Wine is great. It naturally reduces your odds of getting cancer, it's good for your digestive system, and now I find out it's (mostly) Gluten-free!

 

As far as the gluten testing, I'm curious to find out what steps you can take to do this. I browsed the link you provided and didn't find a readily-visible process or set of steps. I don't suffer from celiac disease, but I'm sure that someone who does will be interested in a quick way to test their wines at home.

I most definitely respond to gluten in wine and sherry. I wrote to a number of wine producers and supermarkets to ask if they supplied any wines that had been produced without contact with gluten. Only Waitrose responded with a wine list. I haven't had any problems with the listed wines so far - but I don't drink much so haven't tried many. I have just had a gluten response to Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry, and I see on the Waitrose website that it is listed as 'gluten free'.

I most definitely respond to gluten in wine and sherry. I wrote to a number of wine producers and supermarkets to ask if they supplied any wines that had been produced without contact with gluten. Only Waitrose responded with a wine list. I haven't had any problems with the listed wines so far - but I don't drink much so haven't tried many. I have just had a gluten response to Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry, and I see on the Waitrose website that it is listed as 'gluten free'.

I continue to offer a challenge to anyone who can point me to any normal bottle of wine that will test positive for gluten. So far I've not heard of any.

I have been commercially making wine for 20 years. I keep getting questions from this crowd about 'wheat paste' used in wine barrels. You can find hundreds of websites that make this claim but I have been unable to find a single oak supplier who can confirm this. Even if there is some glue used in barrel productions do you know how impossible that would be to get into your wine? You breathe more gluten on a daily basis than you would drink if you consumed an entire 60 gallon barrel of wine. It's such a ridiculous myth ---- please inform yourselves and stop wasting wineries time asking this ridiculous question. On a more scientific note - gluten is a protein --- even if a wine was fermented completely from rye, almost all wines go through some type of protein stability which would drop the protein out of the wine prior to racking, filtering clarifying.. If this didn't happen you would have a haze precipitate on the bottom of the bottle - ie. protein instability. You could simply rack this off and drink what's left.

I was ill recently after having eaten at a local restaurant, I had the house wine to drink. After emailing the restaurant and advising them of my illness, they were very shocked. After doing some research I was informed that I was ill due to the wheat paste used to seal the oak barrels. I had not heard of this before but on several occasions felt ill after drinking certain wines. Very odd. I was advised that none of the food I consumed had any gluten in.

I was ill recently after having eaten at a local restaurant, I had the house wine to drink. After emailing the restaurant and advising them of my illness, they were very shocked. After doing some research I was informed that I was ill due to the wheat paste used to seal the oak barrels. I had not heard of this before but on several occasions felt ill after drinking certain wines. Very odd. I was advised that none of the food I consumed had any gluten in.

Wine is gluten-free and this myth about wheat-paste making it not safe is just that--a myth!

I browsed the link you provided and didn't find a readily-visible process or set of steps. but this is also a warning to us. Excellent post.