Why "Contains Sulphites" Is Wine's Most Misunderstood Warning
What I tell my friends
That "contains sulphites" warning on the label has done a brilliant job of scaring people off. Here's the thing:
- Only about 1% of the population has a genuine sulphite sensitivity, and most of those are asthmatics
- Sulphites are everywhere, not just in wine. They're in dried fruit, sausages, chips, soft drinks, pre-cut veg, pretty much anything processed
- A whole bottle of wine has roughly 22mg. A 100g handful of dried apricots can have 2,000mg
- You'd need to drink about 90 bottles of wine to match that one snack
Wine is a minor player. It just has to shout about it on the label.
What I tell wine geeks
The sulphite thing is a masterclass in misplaced blame:
- True sensitivity affects about 0.05% to 1% of the general population, rising to around 5% in asthmatics
- Asthmatics' respiratory reactions come from inhaled SO2, not ingestion, and they're not headaches
- Wines without added sulphites often have higher levels of biogenic amines like histamine because nothing controls the microbes, so the "natural" stuff can actually be worse for you
- The red wine headache everyone blames on sulphites? That's quercetin, a flavonoid in grape skins that blocks the enzyme your liver needs to break down acetaldehyde
Verdict
Your dried apricots are the real sulphite villains. The wine is innocent.