A brief introduction.....sulphites explained

Low sulphite (sulfite) wine - Sulphite free wine - No added preservative wine - Organic wine - Wine without sulfites

With the myriad of different terms (above) used in the media, the subject of wine and it’s sulphur content is extremely confusing to all but post-graduate chemists and master winemakers! The average wine lover is left scratching their head, wondering how on earth they’re supposed to make sense of it all.

So, let us sort out the confusion for you!

We’ve designed this section of the website to help clarify the terminology, identify and explain the problems faced by sulphite intolerant people, and hopefully get you back to enjoying a good glass of wine again!

We’ve now increased our information section and split this part of the website into different pages so you can go straight to the part that interests you. Please read on for a brief introduction to some of the main points which are covered in detail on subsequent pages.

What are sulphites?

Chemically speaking, ‘sulphites’ is a collective noun for compounds of sulphur. In wine the most notable are - sulphur dioxide E220, sodium metabisulphite E223 and potassium metabisulphite E224. In fact the E-numbers E220 to E227 are all sulphites which are widely used in a myriad of different foods, and if you are sensitive to sulphites you should avoid all these if possible. Please read our full page for more info

Why are sulphites used?

Sulphites, usually in the form of sulphur dioxide (SO2), are added to wine for a variety of reasons, predominantly as a preservative and anti-oxidant. Used in moderation they can be very beneficial to wine, but used to excess they can cause dangerous and potentially fatal reactions in a small minority of people who are very sensitive to them.

All wines seem to say ‘contains sulphites’. What does this mean?

This is probably the most confusing and frustrating issue in the whole sulphite debate. Virtually all wines contain some sulphites, but there can be vast differences in amounts depending on the quality of the wine, and there are also different types of sulphite, with different effects and symptoms. Unfortunately the wine label is usually no help at all and doesn’t state the actual quantity.

‘Potentially Dangerous’ sulphites and ‘Safe’ sulphites

Firstly, sulphites in tiny amounts are a natural bi-product of the fermentation process - but these are miniscule quantities of ’bound’ sulphites, and harmless to virtually everybody, even sulphite intolerant people.

Secondly, additional sulphur is usually added at different stages of the wine making process for a variety of reasons. The major purpose of this ‘free’ sulphur is to seek out and react with oxygen molecules in the wine before the oxygen can ‘oxidise’ the wine and ruin it. This free sulphur is very aggressive and does this very quickly. It also combines with other compounds in the wine such as sugars. Additionally it has anti-bacterial properties killing off unwanted bacteria and yeasts, and is also useful in controlling malolactic fermentation. Therefore it is very useful to the winemaker and continues to be widely used.

When this ‘free’ sulphur combines with another compound or molecule, it undergoes a chemical transformation and becomes ‘bound’ sulphur which is inert, and DOES NOT trigger an allergic reaction in sulphite intolerant people - logical really as it can only react with another molecule once!

However, winemakers like to leave sufficient free sulphur in their wine at the bottling stage to continue to hunt out free oxygen, sugars and bacteria over the coming months ensuring the wine remains in good condition. Therefore they calculate the exact quantity required to react with expected oxygen levels and still leave the desired amount of free sulphur roaming around to be on the safe side. This free sulphur CAN and DOES cause allergic reactions in sensitive people. This free sulphur is very aggressive and, unable to find any remaining oxygen to react with in the wine, it finds it in your body when you drink it! The body’s natural defense system combats these sulphites in a variety of ways, one of which is to release histamines. Ironically it’s actually these histamines that cause the allergic reaction - not the sulphur itself! Symptoms vary quite dramatically from person to person, a common one being restricted breathing and closing of the throat and lungs. But other symptoms include rashes, hot flushes, tightening of the skin, sickness, diorrhea - and even in some cases the peeling of the skin from the inside of the mouth. In some instances the breathing issue can be fatal, as we know only too well from our own experiences! Jane technically died in January 2010 while on holiday in Thailand, from eating tinned mushrooms on a pizza which contained E227. I revived her several times and we only just got her to hospital on time! In the USA in the 1970s about 30 people died from reactions to sulphites which had been sprayed onto a salad bar, which prompted the US Government to bring in legislation that all foods with more than 10 parts per million had to state ‘contains sulphites’ on the label.

So, if I react to sulphites, how do I find a wine that’s safe?

The good news is you’ve found the UK’s leading website on the subject with a great selection of low sulphite wines. Not only are they low in the potentially dangerous ‘free’ sulphur, they’re also selected for their great quality and taste. Please bear with me while I now explain the subtle differences between the confusing terms:

Low Sulphite Wine – is not technically a recognised legal term, but a general description of a wine with a low amount of free sulphur. A good well made wine, which is safe for Jane to drink, will generally have less than 35 parts per million of free sulphur at bottling. This will have reduced in the first few weeks by a further 10ppm as some of the free sulphur will have combined with oxygen and been converted to bound sulphur.

Sulphite Free Wine - technically there is no such thing, but this is a term sometimes used to mean:

Preservative Free Wine or No Added Preservative Wine - this is wine where no additional free sulphur has been added during the winemaking process. The wine cannot be correctly described as ‘sulphite free’ because there are tiny amounts of bound sulphites in there from the fermentation process, but to all intents and purposes it is free of any harmful sulphites and safe for sulphite intolerant people to drink.

Organic wine - is not necessarily ‘sulphite free’ or even low in sulphites, as sulphites are an organic compound and permitted in organic wines. Some organic wines will be lower than normal wines in TOTAL SULPHUR but are likely to have very similar levels of FREE SULPHUR and can be just as potentially dangerous to sulphite intolerant people as any other wine. Simply being labelled ‘organic’ is no guarantee that they’ll be safe for sulphite intolerant people. Always check out the free sulphur level first or simply opt for low sulphite wines instead. Be very careful though, there are very few people in the wine trade who understand or know anything about sulphite intolerance, and there is a lot of misinformation out there. There are a lot of websites jumping on the 'organic' bandwagon who will tell you (wrongly) that organic wines are low in sulphur and safe for sulphite intolerant people to drink -THEY ARE NOT!

Organic and Biodynamic Wines - update

We get plenty of enquiries from people on this subject as there is clearly a great deal of confusion out there, so we have tried to simplify matters here. Firstly what is often referred to even by people in the wine trade as "organic wine" is actually two very different products containing different amounts of sulphur. For a wine to be labelled "organic wine" in the USA there must be no sulphites added to it, but these wines are very rare in the UK. Within the European Union, which obviously includes the UK, there is no such legal term as "organic wine", it is "wine made from organically grown grapes" - ONLY THE GRAPE GROWING is organically certified. As soon as the grapes leave the vineyard they can have up to 80 different chemicals added! In fact sodium metabisulphate powder is often added immediately to keep the grapes fresh till they reach the winery! So be very careful of the wording on the label. "Wine made from organically grown grapes" is not necessarily the organic natural product we all think of, and it will almost certainly contain added sulphur!

It is the same for Biodynamic wines. While the grapes may be grown in harmony with nature, sulphur and other chemicals are still permitted to be added at the winemaking stage. The limit for Total sulphur in red South African Biodynamic wine for example is 90 mg/l, easily enough to cause a nasty reaction in somebody with a sulphite allergy, or to give any consumer a headache. If you want wine low in additives and chemicals choosing "organic" or "biodynamic" sadly will not gaurantee that you're getting what you wanted. You need to opt for sulphite free or very low sulphur wines instead.

So, if Sulphites can be potentially dangerous, why doesn’t everybody make sulphite free wine?

Sulphite free wine will never be produced in commercial quantities for a variety of reasons, the main one being that it’s not commercially viable. Only a small percentage of people have an obvious reaction to sulphites so it’s perceived by the big retailers as a small problem for the minority. It’s also very difficult to physically produce low sulphite or sulphite free wines, requiring a variety of additional measures (and extra expense) to do the various jobs that sulphur does. But perhaps most important is the risk factor. When making a wine with low (or no) free sulphur the slightest error can result in the whole batch being ruined, and the vineyard owner’s money goes down the drain. It only takes a brief power cut or a machine failure at bottling, a tiny leak or a seal not sitting properly and there isn’t enough sulphur to combat the oxygen in the air, and everything is ruined beyond repair.

A small number of dedicated perfectionists make these low sulphite or sulphite free wines with passion. By it’s nature it has to be on a small scale with hand picking and hand sorting, and is very labour intensive, highly skilled and fraught with risk. These wines simply cannot be produced to compete on price with the artificially low prices on our supermarket shelves. If you want good quality, low preservative wines be prepared to pay upwards of £9 per bottle. The good news however is that at this price you're getting great quality wine, delicious and good for you!