sulfites and tannin

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sirden1959

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Hi all,

do you need sufites in wine? I have a freind who if they have wine with sulfites they get very bad headackes, so would like ot mkae sme wine for her with out sulfites.

And tannin, what does this do for wine? I have a cherry recipe calling for it,,, and have enver used it before...
 
Sulfites:
I have read were some folks don't use sulfites - i personally wouldn't do that - but maybe someone one on here who doesn't use them can speak to it.

Tannins:
They are an excellent antioxidant and natural preservative - also helping give the wine structure and texture.

Reds tend to have higher tannin levels - which allow it to age longer than whites. At early stages tannin gives an astringent taste or pucker sensation.
 
This has come up many times. Its not the sulfites that are doing his and am willing to bet they only have this problem with red wines and not whites. Whites would almost always have more sulfites yet are almost always never the culprit. Want to know why, click the link below.
http://wineintro.com/glossary/t/tannins.html
 
Sulfites are not usually associated with headaches. Sulfites result in asthma like symptoms.

Wiki is not a perfect medical resource, but you may wish to read about "red wine headaches". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wine_headache

Sulfites in wine come from three sources...

1. Sulfites are a naturally occurring by-product of fermentation. You can't do anything about that.

2. Sulfites (usually K-meta) are used as a sanitizer of wine making equipment. You can switch to a non-sulfite sanitizer such as iodophor.

3. Sulfites are added to the wine for three reasons. I do not know of a substitute.

3a. Added pre-fermentation to shock any wild yeasts, and give the wine yeast an opportunity to get established.

3b. Added post-fermentation with potassium sorbate to stop the yeast from reproducing. Especialy important step if the wine will be sweetened.

3c. Added post-fermentation as a preservative to prevent oxidation, and give the finished wine more shelf life.

Good luck satisfying your friend.

BTW, are there any types of wines that your friend can drink without getting headaches? Knowing that might help someone to suggest an approach.

Steve
 
This has come up many times. Its not the sulfites that are doing his and am willing to bet they only have this problem with red wines and not whites. Whites would almost always have more sulfites yet are almost always never the culprit. Want to know why, click the link below.
http://wineintro.com/glossary/t/tannins.html

Which is why reds are more common to have this than whites - the tannin level is higher.
 
Ask your friend if he/she gets a headache when eating raisins, if not it's not the sulphite. Raisins are heavily sulphited. Look at the packaging of the rasins or read here:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2007/11/rozijnen-raisins.html

Do they ever use those small yellow bottles with lemon juice over their salad. Look at the packaging how many sulphies are in this juice. You will be surprised.
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/03/citroensap-lemon-juice.html

Ever eaten dried apricots. Heavy sulphited !!!!

Many more examples can be made. This mostly proves that sulphites are not the culprit.
Histamines are.

Do you need sulphites in wine.

Read this and conclude for yourself if you are willing to take the risk:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/04/een-ongenode-gast-uninvited-guest.html

I learned the hard way to always sulphite my musts.

Luc
 
I noticed this thread in particular as my wife is allergic to sulfur drugs. We drink reds, and have noticed some brands have more or less sulfites in the wine. Her neck and face will flush bright red and have a mild headache if the sulfite level is too high.

I've used iodophor to sanitize my carboys for beer brewing, but my limited reading so far in wine making seems to emphasize k-meta to sanitize and I'm okay with that.

My question is this: do the campden tabs leave any sulfur residue in the wine or just gas off completely?

Cheers!

Bob
 

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