| Red Wine & Sulfites | | | | By: Pamela Heiligenthal |  Page 1 of 3 next >> |
I am certain many of you have heard the statement, "I can't drink wine because I get headaches from sulfites", or "I can drink white wine but not red because I am allergic to sulfites". It is an interesting and debatable subject, but to be quite honest, I am not convinced that sulfites are completely to blame.
On the contrary, I empathize with folks that suffer from some sort of reaction from drinking wine. I, myself do not experience allergic reactions, nor suffer illness or headaches while consuming red (or white) wine. However, the subject intrigues me none-the-less. Herein I will describe the facts and misconception about sulfites, which will hopefully educate and entertain you along the way.
What are Sulfites?
Sulfites (also called sulphite or sulfur dioxide) by definition are compounds that contain the sulfite ion SO32−. We use these compounds to preserve food like dried fruits, dried potato products and wine. The interesting fact is that all wines contain sulfites, because yeast naturally produces sulfite compounds during the fermentation process, and without sulfites, wine would spoil and oxidize. An interesting fact is that white wine has more sulfites than red wines, and dried fruit and processed products have considerably more sulfites than red wine. Additionally, according to the Food and Drug Administration, only 4% of the population is allergic to sulfites, and Dr. Vincent Marinkovich, an allergist and clinical immunologist who has performed extensive research on the subject claims that sulfites pose no danger to about 99.75% of the population.
Foods that Contain Sulfites
Many foods carry high levels of sulfites (More, 2007). Very high levels of sulfites include foods like wine, dried fruits, grape juices, cocktail onions and molasses. Moderate to high-level foods include foods like vinegar, gravies & sauces, fruit toppings and dried potatoes. Moderate level foods include things like shrimp, corn syrup, mushrooms, cordials, avocados, imported sausages and meats, maple syrup, pickles, cheese, clam chowder, ciders, fruit juices and soft drinks. Many products that we consume throughout the day contain high to moderate levels of sulfites and interestingly enough, we even add sulfites to some medications for their antioxidant properties as well as to prevent browning.
Now if you take another good look at the above food list, can you identify how many times you have experienced illness after eating foods from this list (excluding wine)? If you experienced illness, was your first reaction to blame it on sulfites? The answer is probably not. If you still doubt this analogy, try eating a sizable portion of dried fruit. Try apricots, which contain high levels of sulfites. If you do not experience problems after eating the fruit, more than likely, you do not have allergic reactions to sulfites. If you experience reactions while drinking red wine, some other culprit is causing the reaction.
Myths
Andrew Waterhouse, Professor of Enology and Interim Chair, Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis (Waterhouse, 2007) points out factual data regarding sulfites. As aforementioned, "...all wines contain sulfites. Yeast naturally produces sulfites during fermentation so there is only a rare wine which contains none". Second, you may have heard the rumor that wines made outside of the U.S. consist of little or no sulfites. This statement is simply untrue. I have listened to friends and read reports where they talk about drinking wine in France and Italy and rarely feel the [ailing] effects, whereas they drink wine in the U.S. and all hell breaks loose with their olfactory senses and other surfacing symptoms (e.g. headaches and nausea). According to Waterhouse, only the U.S. requires a "sulfite" warning label but 99% of all winemakers in all countries including France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Chile, etc. add sulfites to the wine process. Survey studies conclude that European wines contain an equal amount of sulfites to U.S. wines, which average 80 mg per litter.
|
Wine Related Articles 
