For some people, sensitivities to histamines or sulfites can put a damper on their enjoyment of wine. That’s where Sol Rei Wine comes in. Set in a charming courtyard off the Sonoma Plaza, the winery specializes in wines low in histamines and without added sulfites.
The story
When Katherine Kitzmiller retired from the tech world, she planned to buy a hobby vineyard. But before she could pull the trigger on a purchase, she developed a sensitivity to wine that threatened to derail her agrarian dream. Instead of giving up, Kitzmiller began sending wine samples to a lab for analysis. She found that histamines and sulfites were the likely culprits. Both occur naturally in wine, but for those with sensitivities, they can lead to headaches (histamines) and asthma-like symptoms (sulfites). At age 63, Kitzmiller put her retirement plans aside to launch a winery devoted to low-histamine wines made without added sulfites…