More on Sulfites..
Without sulfites, you might end up with a bottle of balsamic.
Sulfites get a bad rap in the wine world, serving as the leading scapegoat for the mysterious "red wine headache" and alarming people with those enigmatic "Contains Sulfites" warning labels. But sulfur dioxide plays an important part in the winemaking process.
Sulfur dioxide occurs naturally in small quantities during fermentation, but most wineries also add small amounts of sulfites during the winemaking process to prevent spoilage and re-fermentation. Without them, many wines will oxidize very rapidly. (Sulfites are similarly added as a preservative to many other products, such as dried fruit.) And certain bacteria on grapes produce acetic acid, which can lead to anything from "off" bottles to full-out vinegar.
The U.S. government requires those "Contains Sulfites" labels on any wine that contains more than 10 parts per million in order to protect severe asthmatics, who may have adverse reactions. Most wines contain about 150 parts per million, and the legal limit is 350 parts per million. In general, white dessert wines need the most protection and therefore have the most sulfites, followed by off-dry whites and blush wines. Dry white wines have less, and dry red wines have the least.
Sulfites get a bad rap in the wine world, serving as the leading scapegoat for the mysterious "red wine headache" and alarming people with those enigmatic "Contains Sulfites" warning labels. But sulfur dioxide plays an important part in the winemaking process.
Sulfur dioxide occurs naturally in small quantities during fermentation, but most wineries also add small amounts of sulfites during the winemaking process to prevent spoilage and re-fermentation. Without them, many wines will oxidize very rapidly. (Sulfites are similarly added as a preservative to many other products, such as dried fruit.) And certain bacteria on grapes produce acetic acid, which can lead to anything from "off" bottles to full-out vinegar.
The U.S. government requires those "Contains Sulfites" labels on any wine that contains more than 10 parts per million in order to protect severe asthmatics, who may have adverse reactions. Most wines contain about 150 parts per million, and the legal limit is 350 parts per million. In general, white dessert wines need the most protection and therefore have the most sulfites, followed by off-dry whites and blush wines. Dry white wines have less, and dry red wines have the least.
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