Are Sulfites Giving You a Wine Headache?

"WARNING: Contains Sulfites"
Sounds bad, right? Even sinister!

In the 1980s, the US Congress passed a law requiring this phrase on the label of virtually every bottle wine because about 5% of asthmatics are highly sensitive to sulfites. The EU passed a similar law in 2005 requiring labels. 

Sulfite sensitivity affects about 0.4% of the population. And if you are sensitive, you would surely know it by the age of 21. Just a bit of dried fruit or bottled lemon juice might cause breathing difficulties, anaphylactic shock and severe headaches—these foods can have sulfites as much as 200 to 2,000 ppm (parts per million), whereas wine usually has about 150 ppm.

But hey, why take in any more chemicals than you need, right? Some tasters say sulfites have an detectably harsh smell like a freshly struck match.

The fact is Sulfur dioxide (AKA sulphur dioxide or SO2) is a chemical compound that's actually a kind of miracle chemical that occurs naturally. At the end of the winemaking process, most winemakers add more SO2 as they bottle the wine, and the reasons they do are:

• it's an antibacterial agent to keep your wine from turning to vinegar
• it's a yeast inhibitor to prevent re-fermenting in the bottle
• it's an antioxidant to keep wine fresh and untainted

With winemaking becoming more and more advanced, fewer and fewer sulfites are necessary. Dry red wines have hardly any—anti-oxidants come from their skins and stems during fermentation. Those that need SO2's protection most are sweet dessert wines more susceptible to Botrytis cinerea (the noble rot), such as Auslese Rieslings and Sauternes.

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Today, there are many organic winemakers, and they generally avoid adding artificial chemicals, pesticides or sulfites. However, they may be present naturally, necessitating that forbidding warning. And if you try making beer or wine as a hobby, you likely add Sulfur dioxide in the form of Campden tablets.

The "Warning: Contains Sulfites" laws are designed to help protect the small percentage of people who are sensitive to sulfur and should not be confused with the myth that sulfites in wine can give you a "wine headache." Histamines and tannins in wine are more likely connected to the headache effect (and don't forget alcohol). So unless you're party of the 0.4%, don't let the warning scare you. Take solace, because SO2 is very important in keeping any winery sanitary, as well as preventing spoilage before you pop that cork.