The sulphite situation

Meal out with friends

After enjoying a great night out with friends we sometimes pay for it the next day. Dry mouth and a throbbing head are typical symptoms of a night of over indulgence but how much of this is to do with the that last bottle of wine and how much is to do with sulphites or it's correct name Sodium Dioxide?

During the last ten years, coinciding with our increase in consumption of wine, sulphites have had a lot of bad press and a lot of myths have been circulated.

So why do we use sulphites?

Sulphur has been added to wine since the Roman times. They found that by burning sulphur candles inside the wine barrels it kept the liquid fresh and stopped it from spoiling. Modern science has now perfected this by adding just the right quantity of sulphur dioxide at the correct time in the process.

Firstly, its important to understand that sulfites occur naturally in the fermentation of wine. Adding additional sulphites prevents wine from oxidation (turning into vinegar and giving off bad smells), additionally it kills off unwanted yeast and bacteria. It is capable of doing this at very low quantities of just under 150mg per litre.

There are no steadfast rules on when to add the sulphites and how much to use. There are, however, maximum permitted limits to these additives.

If you suffer from adverse reactions to sulphites, especially if you have asthma, you may want to stay away from dried fruit as it contains ten times more sulfites than wine.

There are a few choices you can make if you want to reduce your sulphite intake. Red wine contains far less sulphites than white wine as the tannins in red wine act as a natural stabiliser protecting the wine during storage. Also try organic or biodynamic wine. These wines do contain sulphites but very little or no extra sulphite is added.

To conclude, alcohol in large enough quantities is a poison. If you don't feel you drank enough to warrant the throbbing head you may be susceptible to sodium or sulphites, switching to red wine or organic may help.

My tip is to watch out for low priced wines: these will naturally have a lower quality of wine (see previous article on 'A little more goes a long way') - the more you pay the more care and consideration has gone into what you enjoy.

So the woolly head is more likely caused by quantity and quality than the sulphites.

Food & Wine by Paul Sheerin
Pshearse@gmail.com