Few topics in the wine industry provoke as much debate as sulfites do. These compounds are held responsible for more than just flushed cheeks or the day-after unmercifulness but also for other alleged issues. This brings the question of why sulfites are included in wine, or alternately just left out of the whole wine-making process, to the table.
Wine instructors emphasize that sulfites are mistakenly perceived as dangerous. But, besides these sulfite compounds, what else is there? How do they find their way into the wine?
"The only way these reactions are going to occur is if you want to drink wine that is oxidized, brown, that smells like the barn and has all sorts of weird tastes you are not used to," says Meraviglia. "If you are planning to age your wines, definitely, they should have sulfites added."
Albeit some amount of sulfites is naturally present in the wine, it might have happened as far back as in the ancient Roman times when sulfur dioxide was intentionally added to the wine. "There is a belief that the Romans burnt the candles in the wine vessels to enable the sulfur to cleanse the vessels," says Buzinski. "The first recorded use of sulfur dioxide in the winemaking process was in the mid-15th century."
People with a case of wine sulfite-induced allergy will also probably notice symptoms in other foods such as dried fruits, French fries, and packaged snacks. According to Meraviglia, the most sulphite-containing food items include these. "If after eating dried fruit and nuts, you are not getting the worst headache, it is unlikely that you have developed sulfite sensitivity due to wine," he says.
"Let us not forget that sulfites and sulfur dioxide, when they became an issue due to the recognition of allergens, persisted," says Buzinski. "Nonetheless, the exposure to other foods, for instance, dried fruit and nuts, contains much higher levels of sulfites than wine, besides the quite popular conventional wines."
What are the current trends around sulfites in wine?Some producers claim that their wines do not contain sulfites. However, Meraviglia emphasizes that "there is this falsity on the market right now, and that is the belief that there is no dust factor connected with wine-making."
"But some of them may not have the nerve to say `sulfite-free`," insists Meraviglia. Several winemakers are looking to cut sulfur dioxide use. "Since sulfites have been leached from wine, a few microscopic amounts are added to it in order to protect other es and keep it out of the microbial spoiling but never exceed the satisfaction levels," she says.
Wine producers from the so-called natural wines category may decide to bypass commercial yeasts and opt for the natural inhabitants of the vineyard as well as the winery. Nevertheless, many of them add a bit of sulfur dioxide in the winemaking process.Nevertheless, the amount of used sulfur is hardly the same as in the past.
If you are worried about the sulfites, Bell advises you not to shy away from vintners that produce wines without added sulfites or those that limit themselves. Let yourself be that these wines will taste differently from what you usually drink.
"This wine is designed in such a way that it is as unproblematic as possible with or without added chemicals and may survive only a short time period on the shelf, so it should be consumed while at the height of its young life," he texts.