What are Sulfites, and how are they used?

Sulfites occur naturally in wine during the fermentation process, as well as occur naturally in your body and many other foods. In wine production, the addition of sulfites act as a preservative used to prevent oxidation, bacterial spoilage, and help stabilize the wine.

Wine is similar to a cut apple that rapidly turns brown; to prevent an apple from browning you add a little bit of lemon juice. The lemon juice does not change the flavor of the apple it just preserves the apple from breaking down quickly. Sulfites are the same for wine; they are wine’s version of lemon juice.

When a winemaker chooses not to use sulfites in the wine they run the risk of having the taste and flavors vary from bottle to bottle and a decreased shelf life, quickly moving from fruity, to nutty, to cardboard, and then to vinegar.

A wine without added sulfites is going to be more fragile, lose its aromas and color, and eventually become muddy and cloudy. If too many sulfites are added it can affect the aroma and taste of a wine as well. The wine will smell and taste like burnt matches; harsh, bitter and pungent. Too many sulfites also cover errors in winemaking, similar to the use of too much oak treatment; the key is balance.

Are there any “Sulfite-Free” wines?

No, only a rare wine is free of sulfites. According to Dr. Andrew L. Waterhouse, Professor at the University of Davis, Department of Viticulture and Enology, “All wines contain sulfites. Yeast naturally produces sulfites during fermentation so there is only a rare wine which contains none.”

“Contains sulfites” is a label requirement by the United States government since July 9, 1987. It is required on the label if a wine has more than 10ppm of sulfites. This is required for all wine no matter the origin. The mandatory label information for wine is referenced in the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, (TTB), Declaration of Sulfites 27 CFR § 4.32(e).

To read the CFR – Code of Federal Regulation – relating to sulfites, please click here.

To read the Dr. Andrew L. Waterhouse’s report explaining sulfites, please click here.

Fun Facts about sulfites:

According to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the public interest “sulfites exist in a wide variety of products at levels that are comparable to, or in excess of the concentration that is found in wine. Products such as fruit juices, dried fruits, fruit concentrates, syrups, sugar, jams, cake toppings, baked goods, pizza dough, and prescription drugs contain anywhere between 6 to 6,000ppm of sulfites.”
The United States and Australia permit up to 350ppm of sulfites in wine.
The European Union allows up to 160ppm of sulfites for red wine and 210ppm for whites and rosés wines.
South Africa permits a noble late harvest wine from naturally dried grapes up to 300ppm, a natural wine with a residual sugar content of more than 5 grams per liter a maximum of 200ppm, and a red wine with residual sugar of less than 5 grams per liter a maximum of 150ppm.
According to UC Davis, there is little or no medical evidence that sulfites cause headaches even in people who are allergic, estimated to be just .25% of the population.
The human body produces about 1,000mg a day of sulfites. It helps protect the body from infection, blocks the harmful affects of radiation and pollution, and slows down the aging process.
The United States is the only wine producing country that imposes a limit to the addition of sulfites for any organic claims. Whether the wine is imported or domestic, if it is labeled ‘made from organically grown grapes,’ it must contain less than 100ppm of sulfites.
Bright orange, non-organic, dried apricots typically have 2000mg/kg of sulfites or a 2-ounce serving will contain 112 mg of sulfites.
A white wine generally has more sulfites than a red wine.

If a wine consists of 100ppm of sulfites, what is this as a percentage?

If you were to convert 100 parts per million into a percentage it would be one hundredth of a percent or zero point zero one percent (.01%).

100 parts per 1,000,000
10 parts per 100,000
1 part per 10,000
.1 parts per 1,000
.01 part per 100
Or
(0.01% per 100%)

Related Websites

For more information about the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), please click here.
For more information about mandatory labeling requirements for wine, please click here.
For more information about sulfites, please click here.