I’ve been seeing more and more organic wine in stores lately, but I haven’t been motivated to try much of it. Why? Because they tend to be unstable and I’ve never really found a good one—by current US “organic” standards anyway. The reason is that sulfites cannot be used in the production of wines labeled “organic.”
Sulfites protect wine from acetic bacteria and give it stability and consistency. But they aren’t permitted in organic wines. That means that the entire grape farming process can take place without using any pesticides or other chemicals, but once sulfites are added it can no longer be considered organic. And without adding sulfites, there’s a good chance that the taste of the wine will change rather quickly in the bottle and it just won’t be very good.
That was the point of an article published today on salon.com titled, Does Organic Wine Taste Bad? I totally agree with the perspectives shared in the article. Sulfites are necessary to ensure the quality of the wine and I’ve never been concerned about consuming sulfites.
The article notes that sulfites are mostly a concern for asthmatics. I expect that the alcohol in wine is more detrimental to my health than the sulfites—of course I’m no scientist. I’ve heard some people state that they don’t drink wine because the sulfites give them a headache or a hangover. Again, I have a hunch that it’s the alcohol that’s doing that.
I think it’s also important to note that sulfites occur naturally in wine. The natural levels are typically too low to give the wine stability, and so additional sulfites are added.
I recently did a review of Melania Colleccion Cabernet Sauvignon, which is produced with organic grapes but isn’t labeled as an organic wine because they still used sulfites in the production. “Eco-friendly” is an area where I think there is opportunity for the wine industry. I am a fan of organic farming and minimizing the use of pesticides on crops, but I also concede that there are benefits from chemistry. It’s a matter of finding the right balance and using chemistry to our advantage where needed, but minimizing over-use.
To learn more about eco-friendly viticulture check out Low Input Viticulture & Enology, the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, Vinewise and VineBalance.
For now, I’m sticking with my sulfite-laden wines. But I may pick up some wines “made with organic grapes” from time to time.
As it turns out, I am a chemist and I wanted to just comment on the use of the term “sulfites”. I see this a lot and I am not sure why the plural is used. Sulfite is an anion which is a sulfur atom combined with three oxygen atoms. This complex anion has an -2 electrical charge that is normally neutralized by a couple of singly charged sodium ions in the compound sodium sulfite. Another common form is sodium bisulfite which is the same sulfite anion combined with one hydrogen and one sodium instead of two sodiums. Sulfite is a very good antioxidant and is oxidized to sulfate which is a very common and innocuous anion found everywhere.
The only way I could see the term sulfites being used legitimately is if a combination of sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite is used in the wine. This is a plausible combination if the winemaker is trying to keep the pH of the wine in a certain range, so maybe that is the explanation for the plural form.
That is an interesting point, Bob. I’ve always thought of “sulfites” as a generic term for the different sulfite compounds that can be added as stabilizers to wine.
I’ve done a bit of home wine making and have used sodium metabisulfite at times and potassium metabisulfite at other times.