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TeddyD

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Hello Forum Members:

Please excuse my ignorance, but I am new to this hobby and I have two questions. First of all, I am puzzled that in all of the literature I've been reading, the last step in the wine-making process is to add Campden tablets to the wine. My understanding is that these tablets contain sulfites. It is because of sulfites that I am unable to drink commercial wine any more (migraine headaches are the result). Is it possible to make wine without the use of these chemicals?
Assuming that I can make wine without the use of a chemistry set (e.e. sulfite compounds), can you recommend for me a "kit" that would include the equipment and juice concentrates, etc to make a grape wine like merlot? I'd also like to try small amounts to begin with (e.g. a couple of gallons or so) at a cost that is not prohibitive. I searched on-line only to learn that there are lots of kits available and I'm not sure which one to select. Thank you!
 
It is because of sulfites that I am unable to drink commercial wine any more (migraine headaches are the result).
TeddyD:

Welcome to our little forum.

It is unlikely to be the sulfites causing your migraines. Can you eat dried fruit? They are particularly high in sulfites.

It is more likely that the tannins or histamines in the wine are the cause.

Red wines are considered to be a migraine trigger, so you could make white wine.

When looking for a kit, you will need an equipment kit and a wine kit. Some stores sell these separately, others sell a starter kit that includes both. It would be easier to advise on this point if we knew where you live.

Steve
 
I also did some research on sulfite free wine for a friend sho has roughtly the same problem. I discovered two things:

1.) There are no documented cases of sulfite allergies. My mom is a nurse at an allergy office and she confermed this in a text book..

2.) There is no such thing as a sulfite free wine as sulfites are naturally made during the wine making process..

So if it is the sulfites causing the headachs, there might not be any way to make wine you are able to drink.. I would guess its something else causing the problems but I am far from an expert..
 
I agree with Cp above and red wines are usually the culprit. Basically anything fermented will contain sulfites as it is part of the process of making wine that actually creates although we do add more as an anti-oxidant. That being said you can make wine without adding any additional BUT it will reduce the shelf life of a wine.
http://finevinewines.com/ is a great place to buy equipment and kits for making wine and they even have a 1 gallon Beginnres kit for trying to make wine. I myself would say this is okay but would really recommend buying an equipment kit that would be suited for making 6 gallons as I really dont know anyone who has started this hobby who didnt like it at least for a few years.
 
My mom usEd to get migranes from red wine. She started taking
claritin or alavert before consumption. No more migranes.
Sulfites and headaches is a myth.
 
I agree it's probably the tannins in Red wine causing it I used to get terriable headaches from red wine . I slowly switched to white only wines , I started with sparkling whites then tried different medium ones .Here's a really good idea get yourselves a little book ,cheap $ store one is fine , right the wines as you try them .What you & dislike about them because after you try a dozen or so & go to buy another you forget which ones you liked and even which one you tried when you're standing in the store with thousands of bottles of wines .

As for starting with wine making do you have Kijiji don't see where you're from .I see people selling kits with lots of extras for good prices .

Maybe try making a small batch from whatever type of 100% fruit juice yuo like that doesn't take to long .Not a big investment to start with . Look in the recipe section here Wade has a couple good recipes there .
 
Just so everyone knows who blames sulfites, white wines usually contain more sulfites then reds due to the fact that thye dont have all the tannins a red does to keep them from oxidizing.
 

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