Myths about Sulfites and Wine

[Rollo]

Myths about Sulfites and Wine

If drinking red wine gives you a headache, you’ve probably had someone tell you that sulfites are the likely culprit. Perhaps you’ve been advised to stick to white wine, organic wines, or wines made in Europe on the grounds that these will be lower in sulfites.

Let’s clear up some of the most common myths and misunderstandings about sulfites, wine, and headaches.

Sulfites in Wine

First, a little background: Sulphur dioxide (or SO2) is a chemical compound made up of sulfur and oxygen. It occurs naturally but can also be produced in a laboratory. It’s used to preserve foods and beverages, which it does by acting as an antioxidant and antimicrobial.

Sulphur dioxide has been used in winemaking for thousands of years, ever since the ancient Romans discovered that it would keep their wine from turning into vinegar. To this day, winemakers use sulphur dioxide to preserve the flavor and freshness of wines.

By law, wines that contain more than 10 ppm (parts per million) sulfite must be labeled with the words “contains sulfites.” There are also upper limits to how much sulfite a wine may contain but the regulations vary by region. In the European Union, wine may contain up to 210 ppm sulfites. In the U.S., the upper limit is 350 ppm.

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Lessons learned:

White wines can have more sulfites than red wines.

Sulfites have been added to wines for centuries.

Sulfites occur naturally in wine as a byproduct of fermentation.

Sulfites are required for most wines to prevent them from spoiling or turning to vinegar in storage. Sweet wines contain more sulfites than dry wines, probably because the higher sugar content of sweet wines make them more susceptible to spoilage (more food for bacteria and mold to feast upon).

Sulfites probably do not cause headaches.

Many other foods contain sulfites, more than wine, such as french fries, dried fruit, candy, frozen fruit juice, potato chips, soda, processed meat, etc. Note that all these are processed foods and have sulfites added to prevent oxidation and spoilage. Of course, fresh fruit, homemade fries, etc. would not have added sulfites.

About 1% of the population has sulfite sensitivity, and one of the symptoms is headaches. But for the 99% who are not sensitive, headaches after drinking wine are unlikely to be related to sulfite content.

Also check out: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/myths-about-sulfites-and-wine?utm_source=sciam&utm_campaign=sciam

[Lisa0825]

1. A winery owner once told me at a wine tasting at his place, that about half

the people who get headaches from red wine are actually experiencing a histamine reaction. He said if you take a Claritin beforehand, it will prevent the headache. Ever since that advice, I have not gotten a headache when drinking red wine.

[Rollo]

2. I generally prefer red wine, and only rarely does it give me a headache...

Typically that has resulted from a cheap red jug wine... those days are long over... and of course moderation is the key to feeling OK after...

Wine is a very complex substance and there are plenty of things that can go wrong during fermentation and/or bottling... like fusel oils... which are longer chain alcohols (ethanol is a short chain alcohol)...

http://www.monashscientific.com.au/FuselOils.htm

[womanofthehills]

3. I'm sulfite sensitive - have not had wine in 20 yrs & avoid processed foods

I'm a photographer and it all started with sensitivities to dark room chemicals which contain sulfites. For me it manifested as reactive airway disease.