Acid Heartburn
Q: I want to drink more red wine for health and also for social reasons,
however, whenever I have a glass or two I get a acid heartburn.
Which type of red wine is the least acidic?
Can anyone here help me or suggest me somthing to do against this?
A:If you're getting heartburn after a glass or two of red wine, the
problem is almost certainly not the acid in the wine, but rather the
histamines in it. Histamine causes the secretion of acid in the
stomach, and that leads to heartburn. One possible answer is to take a
histamine blocker like Zantac, Prilosec or Nexxium before or immediately
after drinking red wine. Another possible answer is to drink white wine
instead, as they contain minimal amounts of histamines. If, however,
you want to test your theory and try a low-acid red, I'd suggest trying
a soft red wine. Most red wines from hot areas are low in acid, but
many winemakers will acidify the wine with tartaric acid. Try something
like Yellowtail Shiraz for a very low acid wine. As you suggest, most
Merlots from CA are also low in acid.