Red wine headaches explained. Hear about it at Urban Legends and Stranger truths. U. S. Researchers say they may have discovered why some people get headaches after just one small glass of red wine, even though they're fine drinking other types of alcohol. The University of California teams says it's due to a compound in red grapes that can mess with how your body metabolizes alcohol him. The compound is an antioxidant, or a flavonol called curcitin. Cabernets from the sunny Napa Valley contain high levels of it