If you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or just sipping it after a long day of work, relax, you don't have to give it up because it has too many sulfites.
There are wines without sulfites.
Sulfites occur naturally in any food or drink that has been fermented such as bread, beer and wine.
Congress passed a law mandating that every bottle of wine contain a warning label if the sulfite level was over 10 parts per million (ppm).
This was done largely because there was evidence to suggest that asthmatics could have a bad reaction to high sulfite levels.
Most wines have between 10 to 20 ppm of sulfites naturally even before the wine maker adds any, therefore all wines except those specifically made organically have to carry the warning label.
Sulfur dioxide and oxygen work together in the wine to help stabelize it and prevent it from turning into vinegar or deteriorating from exposure to oxygen.
That is why wine makers add it in the first place.
Having said that though, most wine makers believe that the 'purist' wine is the best wine so they will not add any more than is absolutely necessary to keep the wine balanced.
When the winemaking process is complete most wines will have between 30 and 150 ppm of sulfites this is about the same amount as dried apricots.
The U.
S.
government puts a limit on the sulfites allowed in wine at 350 ppm.
The sweeter the wine the higher the sulfite level.
White sweet dessert wines have the highest levels than medium sweet white wines, blush, dry white and dry red with the lowest levels of sulfites.
If you want to find a wine without sulfites just ask your online wine store or your local wine shop for wines that have less than 10ppm (this is considered no sulfites by the government so they don't need a warning label).
There are wines that will fall into that category, you may have to look but they are out there.