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Seeing several posts regarding wine in the past week and wanted to add my 
2 cents.

I work for a small family owned "boutique" winery in California and have 
been studying and traveling for wine for over 10 years.  While I am not a 
winemaker where I work, I am a home winemaker.  [My job is marketing, PR 
and sales].  I drink wine daily and typically purchase wines from small 
family owned places rather than the big corporations [those that are 
typically distributed throughout the states].  I am by no means an expert 
in how all wines are made, but wanted to share my experiences.

Wines that are fortified (some California "Ports" for instance) may 
have "high proof" added which can be grain based.  It is supposed to be 
grape based, but there's always that chance.  [I personally stay away from 
port and all fortified wines.]

When a particular wine requires fining, many wineries use either bentonite 
or egg whites as the fining agent.  Many wineries don't fine but filter 
their wines.  I did a quick survey of some of the local wineries and no 
one used any gluten containing products in their wines.

HOWEVER!  I did find out that manufacturers of wine barrels will 
occassionally use flour to seal up tiny gaps between the barrel staves... 
sort of like using talcum powder on a squeaky wood floor.  The winemaker 
where I work said he has on occassion used a small amount of flour mixed 
with water as a glue on his barrels.  Now, a barrel will hold about 25 
cases of wine. That's 300 bottles or 1800 glasses of wine for about a 
tablespoon of flour.   

A winery may have 2 or 200 or even 2,000 barrels of the same wine.  Before 
it's all bottled, it usually is mixed together in a tank so all the wine 
is consistent.  So that tablespoon of flour could be distributed among 
many many more cases than just the one barrel.  

Everyone must make their own decisions regarding their health and what 
they will eat and drink.  For me, I will continue to enjoy wine.

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