A method has been developed for the analysis of haloacetic acids in wine involving solid‐phase extraction followed by methylation and quantification by capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Recoveries from spiked samples were greater than 85% for each of the acids and the limits of detection of the method were 100, 10 and 5 μg/litre for the chloroacetic, bromoacetic and iodoacetic acids, respectively. The haloacetic acids were not detected in a survey of over 30 retail samples. Separate stability studies showed that the concentration of chloroacetic acid added to wine was essentially unaffected by up to 90 days storage at 30°C. Under the same conditions, however, less than 20% of bromoacetic acid and iodoacetic acid remained.