Does anyone know if there is a simple sulfite test for the ordinary wine drinker? I’m a bit allergic to them, at high levels anyway, and it would be nice if there is a simple way to test if a give bottle has a lot of them or not. Just low - medium - high would be enough. TIA!
You could use Titrets for white wines. Homebrew shops have them. Accuvin has a test kit for both colors but I think that only tests for free so2 so Im not sure if that would help you. I don’t test for these myself and use a lab so maybe someone else with more first hand experience could help.
But why do you think you are allergic to sulfites? Is this something a doctor has confirmed?
Whether allergic or not I’m sure most of us would like to eliminate excess sulphur.
Why would most of us want to eliminate excess sulfur?
I can answer that: No. Sulfites aren’t allergens, so one cannot be allergic to them.
Some people do have bad reactions to sulfites, but just a small percentage of peoples’ reactions to wine are from sulfites (which I think is what you’re getting at). It’s important to properly identify one’s problem and not just make an assumption based on urban myth. If one’s reaction is allergic, as the vast majority are, there’s no point in looking at sulfites.
Here’s a test: Eat a dried apricot - no reaction, no sensitivity to sulfites.
+1 the dried fruit test is the best!
Exactly
Well, maybe it’s not sulfites, but I surely have a reaction to overly doctored wines. I guess “extracted” is the term? (Frankenstein wine is my term) Large production wines, mostly, but sometimes a “better” wine will get me. I don’t eat additives in my food and can’t tolerate a lot of them in my wines either. I get sick.
A simple test for sulfites might help me because sulfites are certainly part of the doctoring. But reading the winery’s web page works too. If they have nothing to say about their wine making philosophy or techniques, it’s trial and error time. The errors are not pleasant.
This is a very short list (due to my limited tasting experience), but I am ok with Bedrock, Ridge, Scherrer, Swan, and Tablas Creek, all of which we drink often. Then there are some we drink less often that are fine too. There are many winemakers that practice minimal manipulation and vineyard management techniques that won’t bother you. It seems simpler to get this information on CA wines, so far we’ve stuck with that region. Not a hardship!
I have a theory that mass produced alcoholic drinks have more fusel alcohols in them. Ive noticed “bottom self” type liquors or massed produced beers make me feel kind of sick and I suspect this is the reason. And Im not sure there would be any correlation between more extracted wines and fusel alcohols.
Its worth noting that some studies have shown that there is no coorelation between fusel alcohols and hangovers specifically but Ive had enough antidotal experience that cheep liquor of all sorts makes me feel kind of sick even soon after drinking the drink so Im not really sure its a hangover issue anyway.
I don’t think there is any correlation between more extracted wines and s02 . And so2 would have nothing to do with “doctoring”. Every wine has so2 and some of the most artesianly made wines like white burgundies, grower champagnes and german Rieslings can have tons of so2.
Make sure it’s a dried apricot that’s been treated with sulfites as some are not. Just check the ingredient label.
If it’s a pretty orange color, it was treated; untreated ones are not visually appealing.
Can you eat a baked potato?
I truly hope you figure out what you’re allergic to, but I don’t see how manipulation and/or vineyard management would affect sulfites in wine. And that doesn’t matter at all since sulfites, in all liklihood, are not what you’re allergic to. Post hoc ergo propter hoc.
It is my understanding that the true culprit for allergic reactions to wine is likely to be histamines. Treating the grape skins roughly, hard pressing, impeller pumps etc., can release more histamines into the juice which can cause true allergic reactions in sensitive people.
It’s my understanding too. If you can eat dried fruit the odds of it being sulfites aren’t high. Most well-made fine wine is under 100 ppm total, particularly these days (wines with RS would be obvious exceptions).
The legal limit for wines sold in the U.S. is, I believe, 350 ppm.
Dried fruits (prunes, raisins, apricots, etc.) generally range from 500 to 2000 ppm sulfites.
I’d love to hear more about antidotal experience beyond time, rest, hash browns, and ibuprofen. I’m shocked that Fleming didn’t call this out. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that he almost never misses these gaffes in usage. ![[basic-smile.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/83717c74df9b0ce202453063bc4f11baf0ee6b8a.gif "smile"){kind=small}
Cheers,
fred
So you’re agreeing with me?
An apricot from the US not so much, from Turkey, for sure. But a dried apple slice is a sure test.