Kathy Patalsky


Sulfites are a commonly used preservative found in foods, alcoholic drinks, and medications. The most commonly discussed sulfites are those found in wine.

“Sulfites are bad.”

“Wine sulfites give me massive headaches.”

“Sulfites are toxic. I stay away from them.”

“Sulfites are not natural.”

…these are just a few of the common responses when I ask people their thoughts on sulfites.

The reality is that few people know the true facts on sulfites.

There are lots of questions….

Is cheap wine the worst?

What about sulfite-free wines?

How can I tell if I am allergic to sulfites?

So lets discuss, and debunk ten sulfite myths.



1. MYTH: Sulfite-free wine is the best way to go if you don’t want to consume sulfites.



TRUTH: Sulfite-free wine doesn’t exist! A wine maker can claim that there are “no sulfites added, but all grapes create sulfites as a result of the fermentation process. Fermenting yeasts found on grape skins generate naturally occurring sulfites, about 6 to 40 ppm (parts per million).

2. MYTH: Organic wine is sometimes sulfite-free.



TRUTH: Organic wine often contains less sulfites. But as stated in #1, there is always going to be some amount of naturally occurring sulfites.

3. MYTH: If the label on a wine bottle doesn’t say “contains sulfites”, the wine is sulfite-free.

TRUTH: As stated,  all wine will contain naturally occurring sulfites. By law, any wine with above 10 ppm sulfites,  must post a “contains sulfites” label.  If the wine contains below 10 ppm of sulfites, no label is required.

4. MYTH: Both red and white wine contain the same amount of sulfites.

TRUTH: A general rule is that white wine contains more sulfites than red wine. So a white wine headache may actually be a reality if you are slightly sensitive to sulfites.

5. MYTH: If wine says it contains sulfites, it is probably a significant amount, and should be avoided.

TRUTH: By law, all imported and domestic alcohol exceeding 10 ppm of sulfites must bear the label-warning “Contains Sulfites”. Wines that contain less than 10 ppm sulfites are not required, however, this does not mean the wine contains no sulfites.

6. MYTH: Sulfites are unhealthy and many people are allergic.

TRUTH: The FDA says that only about .4% of the population is highly allergic to sulfites. However, many people are slightly sensative to sulfites. Asthmatics are especially at risk of sensitivity. Those who are sensitive should stick to organic wines, and choose red over white. Or avoid alcohol completely.

7. MYTH: Wine contains the highest concentration of sulfites out of any product on the market.

TRUTH: Actually, sulfites ranging from 6 to 6000 ppm are found in these products: fruit juices, dried fruits, fruit concentrates, syrups, sugar, jams, gelatin’s, cake toppings, baked goods, pizza dough, frozen potatoes, processed vegetables, cheeses, ans many prescription drugs. Two ounces of dried apricots, have 10 times the sulfites as a glass of wine. Eating dried apricots is a great way to test your allergic reaction to sulfites. But do so with caution under a doctors’ close guidance.

8. MYTH: Sulfites cause more harm than good.



TRUTH: The possible negative effects of sulfite consumption is still unconfirmed. Sulfites are an amazing preservative,  and have been used for hundreds of years. Without them, we would not be able to have wines that have the ability to age for many years. Sulfites also kill off any bugs that result from a ages-old, not-so-clean wineries. Some brand new wineries in California are extremely hygienic, and can use low sulfites for drink-quick wines. This couldn’t happen at centuries old European wineries. So sulfites make it possible for us to drink certain high quality, aged wines with a bit of assurance. Sulfites also allow common household food items like strawberries and bread to keep for a much longer period of storage.

9. MYTH: European sold wines do not have the “contains sulfites” label warning, and thus have no or less sulfites.



TRUTH: Not true. Europeans think Americans are ridiculous for saying “has sulfites” on wine labels. To them it’s like requiring a label saying “Has seeds!” on a store bought apple.

10. MYTH: Cheap wine, Massive Headache!

TRUTH: OK, this one can be true! There is an impurity called a cogener. Cogener is more concentrated in lower quality wine or dark alcohols.

Cogeners cause hangovers. Why do hangovers hit the morning after? Well interestingly, alcohol inhibits the action of the cogeners. So your hangover is usually delayed until after all the alcohol leaves your system and only the cogeners are left. (About the next morning, right.)

But don’t worry, if you do get a massive hangover, you can always reach for some fresh young coconut water for the ultimate hangover remedy.



Kylie

Fiona Muller


The term “organic” is cropping up more and more when it comes to food and drink production in the 21st Century. It demands a cleaner and a non-chemically grown product. But how does this affect wine production and can there be such a thing as a wine company who can produce truly organic wine and stay in business?

As the organic movement grows, there is pressure from environmentalists and increasingly choosy customers to know exactly what goes into their food and drink before they purchase it. Organic wines have previously been accused of being dull, and most of the world’s “best” wines have long been produced in a far from organic way.

The place to start when talking about organic wine is to decide exactly what the term “organic” means to you.

Organic wine is made without the use of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides. It is also vacant of artificial preservatives or colourings, which may be added to non-organic varieties.

But why go organic? It is thought that many of our foodstuffs have been tainted with chemical build up through the use of non-natural pesticides or fertilisers on the plants they grow and that your body could be affected by consuming them. The build-up of these chemicals, it is claimed by environmentalists, have the potential to cause long-term health problems or could contribute to developing allergies. There is also the question of chemicals from treated crops going into the ground and ending up in drinking water, an issue that has already led to many changes in general crop production and water treatment.

Most commercial crops are grown with the use of fertilisers and other chemicals who kill things that can harm the crop. Continued use of these chemicals can weaken the soil and start to upset the eco-system in the ground. They also lead to some pests developing a tolerance to them which encourages the further development and use of stronger chemicals and further builds up chemicals in the product itself.

The alternative to all this is to grow plants organically. Organic farming is a more time consuming method of production and needs time to replenish the natural eco-system too. Setting up an organic farm means taking time to tackle weeds by hand,

encouraging natural predators of pests who frequent the vineyard, and where this does not work, finding other ways of tackling the many organisms that harm crops. Fertilizer will be compost or animal manure, and a system of planting flowers and herbs to create biological diversity has to be included in an organic vineyard.

Vineyards face an additional problem – mildew and black rot. These are diseases that can ruin a crop and in some cases destroy a whole vineyard. This makes growing organic vines very difficult in regions where there is a lot of humidity. Therefore organic production is most common in hot dry regions where fungal infections are less likely, and where extra labour can more easily be afforded.

To be able to sell as an organic vineyard, the organisation has to be recognised by one of the official certification bodies across the world.



Lewis

Ben

Sulphur Dioxide or E220 as it is so alarmingly and anonymously titled on so many food packets is permitted under all winemaking standards. It is a preservative and disinfectant. It is added to wine as Potassium Metabisulphate or PMS and has been blamed for being one of the major causes of hangovers and headaches following wine consumption. Some people have lower thresholds than others, and if you’re the former then Organic wine is definitely recommended as the governing bodies permit just two thirds of the amount (although the norm is well within this). The best producers try to use much, much less than this.

However, there are no official rules concerning the organic vine growing. So, organic wine growers adopted wine growing techniques in agreement with the principles of the organic farming. They are often charters or guides of good practices with qualitative and quantitative limitations of the custom/usage of additives and technological processes.

In most of the European consumer countries (UK, NL), rules were also set up by certifying bodies (as Soil Association for the UK), with limitations on the doses of additives notably sulphites.

Sulphites are naturally produced by yeasts during the winemaking. The addition of sulphite is traditionally considered as en effective method for the protection and the preservation/conservation of the wine at various stages of its elaboration. Nevertheless, the use of sulphites in foodstuffs is limited because of their potential, negative effects on the health, of the user and of certain consumers.

The sulphiting is allowed for all the regulations of organic winemaking, but in a more restricted way than in the regulation of the wine. The European regulation fixes maximal doses of sulphites in the end product; they vary according to the types of wines of 160mg/l for red wines to 400mg/l for sweet wines made from noble rot such as Sauternes.

Eric

DJ Brew


Every now and then someone tells me they don’t like red wine and prefer white wine because the sulfites in red wine gives them a headache – commonly known as the Red Wine Headache (RWH). The label “WARNING: Contains Sulfites” seems to justify their claim. The question is do the sulfites in red wine really cause headaches?

Sulfites are used as a natural preservative in wine. The reason it is called a “natural” preservative is because sulfites are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. More sulfite is often added by the winery as potassium metabisulfite. This added preservative allows the wine to age over many years; otherwise it would quickly turn to vinegar. Organic wines have this aging problem.

All red wine contains sulfites, even the ones labeled “no sulfite added”. So do all white wines – white wines have much more sulfite on average. All wines contain 40-80 mg/liter of sulfites on average. Organic wines contain less, but they still have sulfite in them. You cannot make wine without making sulfites. It does not matter which country the wine originates from. The US and Australia list sulfite warnings on their labels, but the Europeans are not required to do so. European wines still contain the same amount of sulfites.

Sulfites are also used in dried fruit; no one claims that they got a headache from a bag of dried apricots. Pancake syrup typically contains more sulfite than red wine. The human body also produces sulfites through normal biochemical processes, about 1000 mg per day.

Some studies have shown that some people can have strong reactions to sulfites. Slightly less than 1% of the population lacks an enzyme to break down the sulfites. In comparison, peanut allergies affect about 4% of the population.

For these people the inability to break down sulfites can be a life threatening problem – much more serious than a headache. Symptoms typically include restricted breathing to varying degrees, especially in asthmatics prescribed steroids. Skin rashes, itching or nausea are rarer symptoms, but headaches are not typically a symptom of sulfite reactions. Despite the seriousness of some reactions, the FDA has reported only 19 sulfite related deaths since 1990. None of these deaths were related to red wine.

Researchers in Australia studied a group of people who were very sensitive to sulfites. The researchers gave these people a drink that contained 300 mg/liter of sulfites, much higher than the amount typically in red wine. Only 4 test subjects out of 24 showed an asthmatic response. None of the subjects responded adversely to drinks with 100 mg/liter. This study published in Thorax (2001 Oct; 56 (10):763-9), showed that “only a small number of wine sensitive asthmatic patients responded to a single dose challenge with sulfited wine under laboratory conditions. This may suggest that the role of sulphites [sic] and / or wine in triggering asthmatic responses has been overestimated.”

This still does not answer the question about RWH. The fact is no current peer reviewed medical research links sulfites to headaches. This does not mean that red wine does not cause headaches for some people. There is research that shows that red wine does cause headaches for some, the culprit however is not the sulfites.

Most recent medical studies believe that prostaglandins, hormone-like substances, may be responsible for the production of some types of pain and inflammation and could be the culprit in RWH. Herbert Kaufman, M.D. and Dwight Starr, M.D. from Mt. Zion Hospital and Medical Center showed a significant decrease in headaches in subjects prone to RWH and given prostaglandin inhibitors.

If you are still in doubt, try eating a bag of dried orange apricots. These are heavily sulfited. If you don’t experience the very rare headache, or the much more common respiratory problems, you are not sensitive to sulfites. The best advice is to keep a journal of red wines that you try. Note which wines give you a headache, and which wines that have no effect. In the future, drink the red wines that do not give you a headache.

One last note, the headache you get from several wines the night before is called a hangover. Those can be avoided by not drinking as much!



Tom

Muna wa Wanjiru


You might get confused and wonder how on earth you can go more organic than a wine, right?

The fact of the matter is that even though we aren’t aware of it, grape crops to a very great extent are sprayed with as many different pesticides as needed to keep away the all-encompassing weeds, bugs and other of nature’s little nasties which might destroy precious wine crops.

What all that means to us, is that we’re drinking pesticide inflicted wines. It might not always come through as a pesticide taint in the wines, but nevertheless it is there. And that’s where organic wines steps in.

These vintners have tried different methods to retain their wine crops without resorting to the use of harmful pesticides.

So whereas you won’t see row upon row of beautifully tended and well kept wine vines, at these organic vineyards you will instead find a wonderful disarray of grape vines that have been allowed to grow in harmony with nature and not against it.

Organic vintners use natural bug and weed beating methods like birds and bees and cover crops.

Although this sounds all well and good, unfortunately in the wine business, just as in any other business the bottom line is the king, and money truly does talk.

There might be more than a few of these organic vineyards around today with more yet, set to spring up over the years, or be converted, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll see a mass move towards going organic in most of the vineyards.



Beth

Fiona Muller


When you are looking for a drink to suit the majority of people go for wine.  It is a universal drink which has types that are good for most people.  There is dry wine, organic wine, sweet wine, fortified wine, red wine, rose wine, and of course sparkling wine.

If you are planning a party it goes down a treat.  You can have sparkling wine or champagne for a toast and a red and a white wine for people to drink the rest of the time.

If you are planning a dinner party, you can start the evening off with an aperitif such as sherry, move on to a white and red wine to go with the main meal, serve a dessert wine with the pudding and end up with port and stilton.  In fact what is a dinner party without wine?  It is like having bread without butter.  

This article is going to give you a short overview of different types of wine.

White wines

These tend to be light and can be sweet dry or somewhere inbetween the two.  Best drunk with white meat or fish they can have a light refreshing nature or can be oaky and fuller in flavour.  In general wines from the New World tend to be richer.

Red wines

These tend to go with meats, barbecues and rich cheese.  They can be full or light in body and again those with the heavier alcohol content tend to come from the New World

Organic Wine

Like organic food this describes how the wine is produced rather than the wine itself.  Can be white, red, rose or sparkling in their nature.

Fortified Wines

These are wines that have had another spirit added to them to make them higher in their alcohol content and usually sweeter than traditional wine.  Typical fortified wines include sherry, port and brandy.

Sparkling wines

These wines include the King of all sparklers Champagne.  Sparkling wine is know as Prosecco, Cava, and Sec in various other countries and is a great party ice breaker or ideal as a celebration toast

So what are you waiting for go out and get some wine in today.  For a great range of quality wines why not try an online independent wine retailer.  They will have a large range of wines with tasting notes so that you can choose wines according to your taste buds rather than your imagination.



Jonathan

Muna wa Wanjiru


When you want to buy organic food you have a number of different options open to you. These options will include going to the supermarket and also stopping by roadside organic food stalls where you can buy the fresh produce. Now, while both of these options are quite good there are times when you will need help in finding where you can get your organic foods from and this where an organic directory comes in handy.

This will change form place to place, from region to region, but essentially the organic directory will contain the same basic information. This will normally include such things as the names of organic food producing farms, the different organic foods to be found in these farms, and maybe even how long these farms have been producing organic foods.

The information will necessarily vary from organic directory to organic directory, but the end product will be something that is helpful and easy to use. Now, since there is no one organic directory as such, you will have to be content to rely on the different organic directory services that are offered by the many different organic farming and food producing organizations.

These will for the most part have an organic directory of the various criteria that the organic farmers association or organization has on their books. If you’re interested in getting an organic directory for yourself, you should be able to lay your hands on this by contacting the various organic organizations.

Of course, you might also be able to find an organic directory from the National Organic Program which is the arm of the USDA which oversees everything about organic foods. This august body is also the one that sets the definition of what organic is, as well as giving organic certification to farms and organic processed foods.

You will also find worldwide that the usage of organic foods has spread. This means that there are not only organic farms to think about anymore, but also organic restaurants, organic wine shops and organic health food stores among other things.

With this boom in the culture for everything organic, you will that an organic directory for these things has also sprung up. With one of these in your pocket, or on your laptop or palm pilot, that you will be able to have a fine organic dining experience even when you leave your home. And considering where organic foods were a few years ago, this is a great achievement.



Lorrie

Ben


First of all, we need to explain what a biodynamic wine. A biodynamic wine is a wine made from grapes grown biodynamically.

Biodynamic Vineyards have the same as organic vineyards – to produce grapes from which to make wine profitably without using synthetic additives. The only difference between organic and biodynamic vineyards is that on biodynamic ones the work in the vineyard is timed to coincide with the Earth’s natural rythms so that the vine is receptive to what the winegrower is asking to do. These natural rhythms are determined by the position of the moon, the sun and the planets as well as the earth. So whereas Organic farmers concern themselves predominantly with the soil - in other words what’s going on beneath their feet - Biodynamists also concern themselves with what’s going on above their heads.

Biodynamic growers feel that the influence the movement of celestial bodies relative to each other and to the Earth have a significant influence on how plants grow. This is not new. For instance, Hesiod when writing in the eighth century BC stipulated that wine be made according to a sign from the sky:

When Orion and the Dog Star move Into the mid-sky, and the Arcturus sees The rosy-fingered dawn. (Works and Days II: 609-17)

Vineyards claiming to make wines from biodynamically grown grapes are certified by a regulatory body called Demeter (international trademark). Demeter was the Greek Goddess of agriculture and protector of the fruits on the earth. The whole vineyard must be converted to biodynamics for the wine from it to be marketed with Demeter seal.

Biodynamics has its fair share of sceptics, but can anyone ignore the obvious influence of the moon on the world around us.

Some tips now to enjoy organic wine.

Biodynamic wines as organic wines need, in most case, to be decanted to benefit both the appearance and the taste of the wine. Decanting helps the appearance by leaving any sediment in the wine at the bottom of the bottle the wine came in, rather in your glass. Remember that organic wines are often bottled without fining or filtration, so they are likely to contain sediment. This is often a good sign in a wine. Decanting helps the wine to breathe and develop all its aromas.

If after all, you are not convinced, why not pop in a real good independent wine merchant to have a little tasting and let yourself be seduced by the wine.



Lenny

sreejith


Don’t you know the different categories of wines available? Don’t lose your heart when we are there.

Wines can be produced from any vegetable and fruits. But the most commonly used is grapes which are normally referred to as grape wine or simple wine. Wines fall into three basic categories – the white, rose and the red.

Wines contain sugar in them. The wines with less sugar content will be drier than those wines which have more sugar. If you have visited a wine store, then you will be able to remember that the bins are classified as numbers say 1, 2, 3 etc. The wine bin which has the highest number will contain the sweetest wines.

The normal wines contain alcohol anywhere between nine percent and twelve percent. But sherry, port as well as brandy contains alcohol at a minimum level of twenty percent.

The alcohols which are distilled are known b y the name of spirits. The alcohols like sherry, port and brandy are the distilled form of grape wines. But liqueurs are normally distilled forms of fruit wines. These types of distilled wines are used before meals. These may be or may not be accompanied with an appetizer.

Table wines are served surprisingly with the dinner. These types of wines have a dry nature which will complete the food which is served. The general rule for serving table wine is that:

1. if you are serving red meat, then serve only red wine and

2. if you are serving white meat, then serve only white wine.

But if you do not know which wine to serve, then you can opt for a rose wine.

The category of wine which can be served as dessert is the dessert wine like sauternes.

One can serve sweet wines or wines that are fortified, after the dinner.



Sean

David Cowley


If there is one thing that Russia can offer to the world, it is a long and rich history full of excitement, political intrigue, colorful culture, and a people with an indomitable spirit.  All of these elements can be found in even the quickest lesson about the history of wines from Russia.

First off, remember that there is a difference between Russia and the Soviet Union, a fact that many people from outside of that area often forget, thinking that they’re the same thing.  In reality, the regulation of the making of Russian wines has had its own ups and downs, following the history of Russia’s being a part of the Soviet Union.  During the time of the Soviet Union, wines from Russia were often bottled and packaged under strict supervision of the government, causing many vineyard owners to send their product to other areas of the country for bottling.  This of course would interrupt the wine’s natural fermentation process; many wine connoisseurs know that a true winemaker looks over his product from the planting of the grapes until the filled bottles are sent away for others to enjoy.  There is no part of the winemaking process that is less important than another, and for a vineyard owner to have to send his product to someone else to bottle was just a slap in the face for many!

After the end of the Soviet era, this meant that many who produced Russian wines were without bottling equipment and the like.  Also, because supplies were so difficult to get, many winemakers made their product from imported concentrates and juices, and the end result was by far some of the most inferior wine that anyone could ever taste, if they could even be called wines!

However, today Russian wines are enjoying a newfound popularity.  As merchants are becoming more readily established, vineyard owners are once again finding their crops to be plentiful and bottling facilities readily available.  Also, because of the tough economic times in years past, many of the wines from Russia are made without chemical and pesticides.  As the growers could not afford these things, they learned how to care for their crops without them.  There are also virtually no chemicals or enzymes used in the fermentation or bottling process either; from start to finish, these wines are pretty much tended and harvested without any outside interference.  This means that many who are searching for true organic wines may find the answer to their situation in these fine Russian wines; by circumstance or by choice, they are typically some of the most natural, purest wines available in the world.



Roy