imported wines

[Kcwhippet]

Welcome to the Wine Board, juju. First of all, there are no nitrates added to wine in America, or anywhere else, ever. What is added are sulfites in varying amounts depending on the wine type and the winery. Sulfites are what keep the wine from oxidizing quickly and what helps prevent microbial action. There are wines you can buy with "No Sulfites Added", but these don't have the anti-spoilage benefits of sulfites and must be drunk young before they spoil. However, generally there are no more or less sulfites added here than anywhere else. What may have happened is that the wine you were drinking in Italy and Spain was local wine and you were into the ambiance of the whole thing, and that can ake the wine taste a bit better. Also, when you buy the same wine here as you tried there, you have to know that those wines spent many weeks in a refrigerated container on a truck, then a ship, then another truck getting jostled around. It's worse if the refrigeration units aren't working properly. I'd say though that the main reason they were better there is the whole romance of the experience.