I love wine.  I don’t drink wine to get drunk; I drink wine because I love the taste & the experience the flavor lends to a good meal.  When I first started the gluten-free diet over six years ago, I mourned the passing of my beloved Amstel Light, but was somewhat comforted with the fact that wine was gluten-free, or so I had been told.

Fast forward a few years and I began to hear rumors on the internet of some wine potentially containing gluten!  NO!  The rumor was that some winemakers coated the insides of barrels with wheat-based paste or material.  I could never find any concrete information to back this up, and I wasn’t getting sick when I drank wine, so I left it be.

As I was catching up on Twitter the other day, I ran across a discussion on the Udi’s community page about this very topic.  Alta, of Tasty Eats at Home, mentions an article where this is discussed further, which I found helpful.  It seems the general consensus is that gluten is not used in winemaking and the barrel-coating process is “old school”, therefore making wine safe for those following the gluten-free diet.  Of course if there is any concern, a call can be placed to the manufacturer.

What has been your experience?  Do you drink wine?  Have you had any gluten-like reaction from drinking wine?

****Update:  An excellent article written by Peter Bronski on this topic.  Make sure to check it out!

**Don’t forget to head over to enter the Rudi’s giveaway – it ends tonight!!!