Wine with sulfites or sulfur oxide does not always mean a preservative has been added. Sulfites in wine do occur naturally or they can be an added preservative in some wines, foods, and beverages.
Almost all wines contain sulfites, thanks to the addition of yeast for proper fermentation. But the big question is, are there any associated effects? What are the benefits of including sulfite in wines?
Technically, there are a lot of answerable queries about wine with sulfites. Thankfully, this article comprehensively explains everything you need to know on the subject, including its advantages, side effects, myths, and how you can remove sulfite from your wine.
Let’s dive right in!
Importance of Sulfite with Wine
- Sulfites Are Used to Enhance the Flavor: Sulfites prevent oxidation reactions, helping your wine maintain and even enhance its flavor.
- Sulfites Are Used to Preserve Food: Sulfites preserve food by blocking the growth of microbes by interrupting the normal functioning of the microbes’ cells. Also, sulfites release Sulphur oxide gas, an active element that helps to preserve food and drinks.
- Sulfites Are Used to Prevent Wine Discoloration: Sulfites possess antioxidants that prevent the browning of fruits and vegetables. They also prevent polyphenol oxidase in fruits and vegetables, an enzyme that causes brown pigment formation.
- Sulfites Protect Against Oxidation: Sulfites are natural antioxidants and fight against oxidation. Unlike other wines, red wine possesses more natural antioxidants, and that’s why it doesn’t become stale quickly.
- Sulfites Prevent the Growth of Unwanted Organisms: Without sulfites in wines, another bottle fermentation process may occur, causing the growth of odor-causing bacteria. The Sulfur oxide gas penetrates microbial cells and interrupts various enzymes and cellular processes, creating a toxic environment for these organisms.
The Effect of Consuming Wine with Sulfites
Wines with sulfites are not harmful to everybody; most people can consume sulfites without the risk of allergies. A recent Food and Drug Administration study shows that about 1% of the population is sensitive to Sulfites, and about 5% of the estimated 1% are asthmatic.
Many analysts posit that since sulfites are not only present in wine but are also in foods, beverages, and vegetables, people who claim that sulfite in wine causes headaches should also experience headaches from the consumption of sulfites from other sources. However, if that isn’t the case, it might just be a mere hangover after excess consumption of wine.
However, persons with sulfite-sensitive asthma are verified to have an adverse reaction to consuming sulfites. Therefore, depending on your system, sulfites can be harmful or suitable.
The effect of consuming wines with sulfites include:
- Diarrhea: Sulfite-intolerant persons may experience diarrhea a few minutes after consuming sulfite. This reaction renders the individual weak as all the substance in the stomach would have been discharged.
- Abdominal Pain: This is any pain between your chest and your groin. It doesn’t only refer to stomach pain, as the pain could emanate from any organ in the belly region.
- Hives: Also called urticaria, it is a skin reaction resulting in painful, itching welts. Some urticaria lasts for as long as six weeks.
- Wheezing: Peculiar to asthmatic persons, sulfites can cause allergy symptoms ranging from mild wheezing to life-threatening anaphylactic reactions.
- Chest Tightness: Reactions to sulfite could affect breathing and cause tightness in the chest. This reaction is also peculiar to asthmatic persons.
Other side effects of sulfite include difficulty swallowing, fast heartbeat, allergic rhinitis, flushing, coughing, anaphylaxis, etc.
You can avoid these reactions by staying away from wine that has sulfites. Red wine could be a better option as it contains natural antioxidants and barely contains sulfite.
Overall, asthmatic persons can use doctor-prescribed asthma medications or visit clinical immunology in the instance of an allergic reaction to sulfite. However, whether you are asthmatic or not, it is better to understand your body and know how it functions, even if it means staying away from wine for some time to make this observation.
The Myths About Wine with Sulfites
It is a trite principle that where there are facts, myths are inevitable. Different people have developed various unfounded statements about wines with sulfites based on an uneven analysis which, more often than not, are untrue
The following are a few myths about wine with sulfites and their accompanying facts:
1. Sulfite Causes Allergic Reactions
Although sulfite indeed causes allergy reactions in about 1% of the population, these allergy reactions aren’t limited to sulfites because they can also come through food and beverages consumed before taking the wine.
2. Sulfites Cause Headaches
Headaches from wines are usually hangovers due to excess wine consumption or tannin reactions in the wine. There are other reactions that sulfite consumption in wine causes; however, headache is not one of the allergy reactions. Therefore, to prevent headache-causing tannin reactions, consider consuming white wine. White wine typically contains lesser histamine and tannin content.
3. Sulfites Are Unnatural
Sulfite exists naturally due to the wine-making process, whether intentionally added to the wine solution. It means that even when winemakers don’t put sulfite into a bottle of wine, and it is tagged “sulfite-free,” there is a tendency for a person that is sulfite intolerant to have reactions still.
4. Red Wine Has the Highest Quantity of Sulfites.
On the contrary, red wine contains the lowest sulfite quantity. Red wine contains about 40-50 PPM, while other wines are at least 70 PPM.
5. Sulfites Affect Wine Flavor
Many people believe that the presence of sulfites in a wine affects the wine flavor. While it is true that a high quantity of sulfite in wine can affect the color and taste of the wine, the appropriate amount of sulfites in wine help with flavor preservation.
6. Organic Wines Are Sulfite Free
Although almost all winemakers add sulfite to their wines for its benefits, fermentation creates sulfites. Therefore, these organic wines are labeled sulfite free because they don’t contain any “added sulfite.”
The law provides that wines that contain above 10PPM must show that they contain sulfites to inform sulfite-intolerant persons of the presence of sulfite. In essence, all wine contains sulfites.
7. US Wines Contain More Sulfites Than European Wines.
The conception that European wines contained more sulfites than US wine was dominant because European wines were formerly not labeled to notify about the presence of sulfites. Overall, European wines are estimated to have the same quantity of sulfites as US wines.
Different Ways to Remove Sulfite from Wines
Sulfites are inevitable components of wine because even without the intentional addition of sulfites during the wine-making process, they are present in minute quantity. This is because they are a typical by-product of the wine fermentation process used as preservatives.
If you are among the categories of persons allergic to sulfites but still desire to take wine, here are a few tried and trusted ways to remove sulfites from wine:
1. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxides oxidize sulfites, producing hydrogen sulfate, which eliminates any sulfite-related issues.
However, before using hydrogen peroxide, ensure you know the correct quantity of sulfite in the wine and know the adequate amount that would produce the desired result to avoid creating sulfuric acid, a harmful chemical. For example, for every 80mg/L of sulfites in a wine bottle, you should add ¼ teaspoon of 3% H2O2.
2. The Use of Ullo Wine Purifier
The Ullo wine purifier removes the sulfite preservatives from the wine. The purifier contains a selective sulfite filter that draws only the sulfite and retains the other elements in the wine. The purifier can fit into any glass of wine and is easy to assemble and disassemble.
3. The Use of Sulfite Remover Drops
A few drops of the solution are sufficient to remove the sulfite from your glass of wine. Compared to the Ullo purifier, the sulfite removal drops don’t eliminate the wine’s taste.
4. The Use of a Wine Wand
Wands allow you to enjoy your wine within a few minutes of purification. It is a natural product with zero harmful chemicals. After stirring Wand in the wine, the included filter traps the sulfites and other impurities, thus making the wine sulfite-free. The rod of the Wand can be molded into different shapes; endeavor to always dispose of the Wand after use to avoid contamination of other glasses.
Conclusion.
Overall, sulfites are good compounds found in wines, fruits, beverages, and vegetables to preserve them. Although certain persons have severe allergies to sulfite in wine, not all the allergies wine drinkers experience are from the actual wine; they could be from other food eaten before or after drinking wine.
Of all the known allergy reactions, headaches do not happen to be a part. Instead, that headache might be the hangover you are experiencing after consuming excess wine. In the strict sense of it, sulfites are inevitable, but you can reduce them to a considerable extent.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section. We would love to hear from you.
