S U L F I T E S
The term sulfites is an inclusive term for sulfur dioxide (SO2),apreservative that’s widely used in winemaking (and most food industries) for its antioxidant and antibacterial properties. SO2 plays an important role in preventing oxidization and maintaining a wine’s freshness.
“Contains Sulfites.” These are words you see on almost every bottle of wine. Just two little words — yet so frequently misunderstood!
What are sulfites? Are they really bad? Do they cause wine headaches or other related ills?
Consumption of sulfites is generally harmless, unless you suffer from severe asthma ** I will be coming back to this statement, because it is very important **
Some Facts about Sulfites
Many foods have higher levels of sulfites than wine
Any wine containing more than 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur dioxide must affix to the label ‘contains sulfites’.
Myth: Sulfites in Wine Cause Headaches. Medical research is not definitive on the relationship between sulfites and headaches. There are many other compounds in wine such as histamines and tannins that are more likely connected to the headache effect
Myth: Red wine has extra sulfites, thus it causes more headaches. The truth is that red wine generally has less sulfites than white wine. In the opening paragraph, I stated that sulfites are also used as a preservative in wines. Red wines on a whole, have more tannins than white wine. Tannin is a stabilizing agent and red wines normally go through a go through malolactic fermentation, reducing the amount of sulfur dioxide that is needed.
Myth: Wine should be avoided because it contains sulfites. Most wines contain about 10 times less sulfites than most dried fruits.
Myth: Sulfites are inherently unnatural. Apart from the potential allergic reaction, many people are against sulfites, because they feel they are an unnatural addition when making wine. it is important to remember that sulfites are also a natural by-product of the yeast metabolism during fermentation. So even if you do not add any additional SO2, your wine will still contain sulfites. That is why ALL wines contain some level of sulfites. You may read or hear about wines that contain no sulfites. That is not true, what is more accurate, is those wines do not contain any additional sulfites.
Additionally, one of the reasons that you see more wines labeled ‘made from organically grown grapes’ than labeled ‘organic wine’ is because in the US organic wine must not have any added SO2.
So Why Do I Get a Headache When I Drink Red Wine?
Going back to answer one of the earlier statements I made.
All of these scientific facts, however, do nothing more than say that sulfites are probably not the culprit for the well-known phenomenon of red wine headaches. Other possible reasons include, as I mentioned above, histamines, the alcohol content itself, and tannins. The latest evidence points to the latter.
I have done some informal studying with a number of customers. I had a group of about 25. Some white, some red wine drinkers. I gave them a brief survey about sulfites, plus I asked a bit about their own medical situation (ie asthma, allergies, etc) After a month of having these folks drink wines and record when/if they had headaches, about 80% of the people who talked about headaches were those that had mild asthma or allergies. The others included in that number were tea drinkers. Tea is generally higher in tannin than wine is.
So , I think the bottom line can be established that SULFITES are not the culpruits for causing headaches in people that drink wine!
But to always be on the safe side, there are people who are over sensitive to any type of wine and even one glass can trigger a migraine. But this is not the normal wine drinker population.
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