Sulfites in Wine

We have received the question if it is sulfites in wine "that cause me to have headaches?"
The answer is most probably not. Sulfites are put into wine in very small amounts (measured in parts per million) to prevent spoilage. More often headaches are cause by another compound found naturally in the skin of grapes, histamines. This causes the expantion of blood vessels that can lead to headaches in some people who are sensetive to histimines.