Preservatives in Wine and Why We'd like Them
Why do we need sulphur inside a wine? Sulphur in wines is utilized as a possible anti-oxidant and sterilising agent. It stops oxygen reacting with all the wine and turning it into vinegar and kills off any organisms alive inside the wine (including yeast in high enough concentrations). Whenever a vino is produced under very clean conditions and stored properly hardly any sulphites are required inside the wine. Without sulphites whatsoever, a bottle of wine wouldn't keep going for a year. Sulphites have been used in wines for hundreds of years. The Romans used to burn chunks of sulphur to include sulphites to their wines and they've been used as common preservatives in foods since the 17th century.Wine Logistics
What affect does sulphur (sulphites) have on people? People sensitive to sulphites show asthma like reactions, stuffy nose, congestion, lack of breath etc. Some individuals could have no reaction to sulphites in foodstuffs while other can have a severe reaction. It's like any allergy, many people can die from a bee sting while others are simply irritated by it. People with asthma are most at risk of a reaction to sulphites. Sulphites is going to be highest in young and sweet wines. In the long run in the bottle a lot of the sulphites could have gone.Wine Freight
Where will the Dark wine Headache (RWH) come from? About 1% of people is understanding of sulphurs (sulphites) according to US Food and Drug Administration data and a few people say this is actually the cause of headaches. Another group says the tannins in wines cause headaches. Tannins cause the discharge of serotonin (a neurotransmitter), which at high levels inside the blood may cause migraine type headaches. But tea and chocolate may also have high degrees of tannins and also you don't learn about lots of people complaining of tea or chocolate headaches. But, some migraine sufferers are extremely sensitive to chocolate and tea and red wines. Yet another number of experts believe that the headache originates from the histamines in wine. People sensitive to histamines lack a certain enzyme as well as the theory are these claims combined with the alcohol in the wine triggers the response and headache. The consolation of this is that it is natural part of wine that particular people can't tolerate and not any man made additive. Some research shows that common aspirin taken before drinking wines can slow or inhibit the onset of the RWH.
What are the differences between the headache now as well as the hangover the very next day? If you are responsive to a certain wine, then you'll get a headache within about Fifteen minutes of drinking your wine. There are a number of causes because of this as discussed above, but the key difference will be the headache will show up very quickly. The 'axe right in front of the head' hangover the following morning is normally dehydration and occasional blood sugar that is the consequence of simply too much to drink. The easiest method to minimise the hangover is to eat while you're drinking and drink plenty of water. Moderation within the level of wine you drink will even probably help.
Do white or red wine wines have more sulphites? Whites! Regulations permit higher amounts of sulphites in white wines than red wines and also higher levels in sweet wines. The sulphites are needed in sweet wines to avoid fermentation from the residual sugar inside the wine.
Can one get a totally preservative free wine? There is really no such thing. The fermentation process produces lower levels of sulphites. These are naturally consumed because the wine ages and can dissipate quickly to the air when the wine is opened. You have the risk that wines with very low sulphite levels will ferment in the bottle and you will probably get a fizzy bottle or worse still: vinegar. Dried fruits as well as other foodstuffs might have higher degrees of sulphites than some wines.