Sulfites

[jmharry57]

I need to know if all organic wines have "no detectable sulfites"?

[Innkeeper]

Hi jmharry and welcome to the Wine Board. Your question is difficult to answer for a variety of reasons. First of all there is no universally accepted definition of "organic wine." Secondly wineries do not always list "detectable sulfites" on the label or even on their websites. So you would have to ask about a specific wine, and we will attempt to find an answer to your question.

[winoweenie]

Sulfites occur naturally in all wines organic or not. WW ( P.S. Welcome to the board)

[Kcwhippet]

Organic wines are made from grapes certified so by an official entity, whether in the country or elsewhere. Certified organic grapes are grown with no inorganic chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. As winoweenie said, all wines have at least some sulfites since they are a byproduct of fermentation. So, any fermented product - bread, cheese, beer, wine, etc. - has some sulfites in it. There are some few wines made with "No Added Sulfites". However, sulfites are added to wine to retard oxidation and as an antimicrobial agent, so such wines have a very short shelf life and should be consumed soon after release. Incidentally, there are very few people who are sensitive to sulfites. Only those who are steroid dependent asthmatics are truly sulfite sensitive. All others are NOT allergic to sulfites. Red wines have chemical compounds which some people are sensitive to - histamines and tyramines are two - which leads people to believe it's the sulfites and it isn't. These compounds are found in the skins of dark wines which aren't in white wines. So, white wines actually have more sulfites to help prevent spoilage.