Wine in Words: Some Notes for Better Drinking by Lettie Teague

Author:Lettie Teague [Teague, Lettie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780847845446
Publisher: Rizzoli
Published: 2015-04-20T17:00:00+00:00

Hold the Sulfites

THE MOST COMMONLY REQUESTED WINE IN ANY WINE SHOP isn’t one that is red or white but one that is “sulfite free.” Whenever someone reports having a headache after consuming a glass—or a bottle—of wine, they inevitably ascribe it to the presence of sulfites—hence the perennial search for a wine that’s free of the substance. Except, of course, that such a wine doesn’t actually exist.

Sulfites occur naturally in every wine during the fermentation process and they are almost always added (in the form of sulfur dioxide) prior to bottling. This prevents the wine from oxidizing or spoiling later in life or during transit (the sulfur dioxide a protective layer against the incursion of oxygen, which is the enemy of wine).

There are some wines that have very little added sulfur—some winemakers, especially those who identify themselves as “natural” or “organic,” eschew adding much sulfur dioxide, and sometimes they don’t add any at all. This can create a different problem—a wine that is less stable and that sometimes ends up oxidizing in the bottle since it doesn’t have the protective sulfur dioxide shield. This can make a white wine look and taste like sherry—and a red wine taste dried out and tired.

The fact is that when most people blame an adverse reaction to a wine that they think has a lot of sulfites it’s often something else altogether. It’s often a wine that’s high in alcohol—in fact, this probably causes more headaches than anything else. The second most likely culprit is histamines, which are found in higher amounts in certain types of red wine than others (usually reds with more tannins, like Cabernet or Syrah) and more often in reds than whites. This creates a condition that even has it own acronym: RWH, or red wine headache. (By the way, white wines generally have greater amounts of sulfites than reds.)

There is actually an easy way to determine whether one is truly allergic to histamines or sulfites. For the latter, eat a few pieces of dried apricot, which is high in sulfites. If you don’t develop a headache or suffer some other sort of reaction, you’re likely not sulfite-allergic. For histamines, eat some pepperoni and salami on a piece of sourdough bread (all high in histamines). If you don’t suffer, you’re probably fine too.

Another common cause of headaches—perhaps more common than anything else save for overindulgence—is drinking cheap wine. Cheap wines tend to be more manipulated than pricier bottles—sugar may be added to the alcohol to enhance flavor—creating what some would call a less “pure” form of alcohol. This might be the easiest—if possibly the priciest—way to fix the problem.

For anyone who is fearful of an adverse reaction from a glass of wine, here’s my advice: spend more, drink less, and steer clear of those big, high-alcohol reds.

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