Jena Willard
It’s a tale as old as wine — waking up with a pounding headache the morning after enjoying a glass (or two) of vino. While overconsumption and dehydration can often be the cause, many suffer from such reactions even after a single glass.
Colleyville natives Dr. David Meadows and his son Derek knew this feeling all too well. Instead of settling with suffering, the two put their heads together to find a better way. With a background in research, development and pharmaceuticals, David and Derek hit the lab and founded PureWine in 2013 to keep the good times flowing.
The initial result came in the form of a convenient wine filter — The Wand, a single-use wine purifier that sits in your glass, silently removing histamines and sulfites without affecting the vintage’s flavor profile. Now a decade after incorporating, the family business is still changing the way people enjoy their favorite beverages.
Isolating The Problem
At first, David and Derek were unaware of how many people also suffered from wine headaches.
“We felt isolated at the time,” Derek says. “We wanted to figure it out.”
The pair realized a gap existed in the wine industry for those who enjoyed savoring a casual drink but were burdened with wine intolerances. After looking at the science behind alcoholic beverages, David and Derek went to work to find the root of these headaches.
“The genesis of [PureWine] was we had seen and read a lot of myths of what was causing these interactions,” Derek says. “We had to do our homework. We looked into them and found a lot of [the myths] were not necessarily correct. We started to put the pieces together.”
David and Derek realized a majority of these negative side effects came after drinking bold reds, which led to an “aha” moment – histamines. Histamines are a chemical compound naturally created in the body in response to injury, allergy or inflammatory reaction. They are also found in a variety of foods and beverages – especially in fermented items like alcoholic beverages.
Reds have a higher level of histamines because producers use the skin of the grape in the winemaking process. Red wines with thicker, darker skins also normally carry a higher concentration of histamines. Histamine reactions can greatly differ depending on the individual.
While some may muster through a few glasses with high histamine levels without any significant side effects, there’s a large number of consumers who have histamine intolerances, with symptoms ranging from skin reactions to respiratory concerns.
“It was causing people a lot of pain,” David says. “We found a problem that needed to be solved.”
The two set up shop at the University of North Texas Center for BioHealth and spent countless trials trying to selectively remove histamines and sulfites without affecting the beverage’s flavor profile.
“We found a lot of ways to ruin a lot of wine,” Derek says.
After unearthing the technology and incorporating the company, the two found a few angel investors in Southlake that allowed them to share their scientific discoveries with the world.
“We found living in this area gave us a lot of resources,” Derek says.
In 2016, the two launched The Wand, a portable filter that uses ionic technology to pull out problematic compounds like a magnet. After drawing out the molecules, the histamines and sulfites stick to The Wand’s resin thanks to its nanopore absorption.
PureWine quickly grew, gaining press attention while also being quickly utilized by customers – both online through Amazon and in big box wine stores. In fact, Derek says they have been able to see PureWine’s The Wand stand strong as Amazon’s bestselling wine accessory for three years running from 2021 to 2023 thanks to a third-party source.
“We found a blue ocean where there were no competitors,” David says. “It was all new. We were essentially trying to build a new industry.”
In 2019, PureWine launched its next product – The Wave, a whole-bottle purification product that is inserted into the stem segment and purifies and aerates the blend as you pour. Two years later, PureWine dropped its next product – The Phoenix, a reusable purifier that uses a disposable Bio-Pod filter cartridge made from eco-friendly plastic.
These whole-bottle solutions opened up a new door, not only removing histamines and sulfites but also improving wines that had been affected by oxidation.
“We call it making a good wine great,” David says.
PureWine users have also shared positive experiences using these products on other alcoholic beverages, including beer and dark spirits – which are also known for their histamine levels. David and Derek now hold more than 25 global patents and trademarks, protecting their intellectual property, innovations and cornerstone place within the industry.
A Family Business
After the business started to grow, David and Derek knew they needed to bring on additional help. PureWine’s head of sales and marketing, Greg Anderson, originally worked with David and Derek as a consultant. After hearing about their concept, Greg knew he wanted to be a part of PureWine.
“When David started talking about his vision and what the product was, I told him, ‘I know your consumer because I’m married to her,’” Greg says. “My wife was a consumer before we had consumers. She used to love red wine, then after a period of time, she said, ‘I can’t drink this anymore.’ She had given it up.”
Greg has been able to see firsthand the impact PureWine’s products have on the wine community.
“People are passionate about wine and the lifestyle it brings,” Greg says. “If you read some of the testimonials we receive, you can see it really makes an impact. Customers would have gatherings with friends and ladies’ nights out and couldn’t participate. It left a gap or void for people. And they now say, ‘Thank you for bringing this back to me.’”
That impact can be seen through PureWine’s sales across the world.
“The validation is that we have now sold more than $15 million globally,” David says. “We are in over 40 countries. We are in 11 out of the top 15 wine retail locations, including Costco, Total Wine, Bevmo!… we are in just about every wine retailer.”
PureWine has also been recognized for its business and innovation endeavors. Some of its recognitions include winning the 2017 State of Texas Innovation Award, being named in the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship’s Dallas 100 Entrepreneur Awards from 2020 to 2022 and becoming finalists for TechTitans 2023 Emerging Company Innovation Award and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 Southwest Award. The pair even pitched in front of an infamous panel of “sharks” in 2021.
David and Derek are proud of all the impact they have made from their offices in Southlake. By partnering with manufacturers across the country, the company is proud to be sourced and manufactured 100% on U.S. soil.
But disrupting an industry brings challenges. While they originally were the sole solution for the market, PureWine now often has to protect its product line from knockoffs that infringe on its patents. But they are not letting others in the industry slow them down.
“It’s a never-ending process,” David says.
PureWine expanded its product base in August to include an eco-friendly The Wand, proving David and Derek continue to look for new ways to improve the drinking experience for customers.
“There’s been a yearning for more earth-friendly products,” Derek says. “We have our Bio-Pods, and now we [have] a fully biodegradable product using biorenewable material – plastic that’s made out of sugar cane.”
While the innovation, recognition and sales help David and Derek continue to grow PureWine, the two say they continue to be driven by their mission of helping people rediscover a passion for wine.
“We have touched millions of people’s lives with our products,” David says. “They have lives that felt diminished. There are people who struggled to drink a glass of wine – who wanted to be a part of a social gathering. And we can bring them back to something they live. What we found is that it brings fulfillment into people’s lives again.”
The product and vision sparked that initial interest in PureWine, but Greg says it’s the family environment that keeps him inspired to be a part of PureWine.
“The family element is really important to David and Derek,” Greg says. “They are passionate about what they do, and they have high standards. They are both scientists, so we are all very much driven by data and analysis. But they make it fun.”
While David and Derek have pioneered a new innovation in the world of wine thanks to their scientific backgrounds, they know that they are also building off of an industry that has roots that go back centuries.
“Wine is one of the healthiest beverages ever invented,” David says. “It’s been around 9,000 years, so hopefully nature has proven it can be a helpful beverage.”
That thought process allows PureWine to channel its true place within the business world.
“We view ourselves as a health and wellness lifestyle company,” David says.
So next time you are grabbing a bold Cabernet Sauvignon or plan to order a Syrah to pair with your steak, come prepared with the latest technologies — cooked up right here in Southlake.