Wines with sulphites..?!
Wines with sulphites..?
On almost 99% of white wine botlles produced worldwide, it says 'Contains Sulphites'.
I do not know about red wines, because I prefer white.
What is the impact of this sulphite content on our health..
Apart of 'drinking alcohol or not forum', should we avoid it, restrict it or continue drinking it?
Answers:
The only reason it says that on the label is that the regulatory authorities in your country require the statement.
There are many other products that contain sulphites -- often much much more than ever found in wine -- that doesn'tcontain a warning. Even many bottled mineral waters -- a drink many people consider healthful - contain sulphites. Just look at the list of ingredients.
Sulphites play many functions in winemaking, including killing bacteria, & sterilizing and keeping the wine in good condition, and they have been used since antiquity. All wines contain sulphites -- even the few that have not had them added contain them as they are produced naturally during fermentation.
You ask about restricting use -- its use in wine is already restricted. Unless you are a small minority - about 1% - of those that suffer from asthma, sulphites whould not affect you at all. And if sulphites do affect you, then you should know as you will be avoiding fruit juices, dried fruits, eggs and etc.
I am not sure where you are, your spelling of sulphites with a 'ph' indicates British English. In the EU the sulphites warning on wines has recently become mandatoty, before that only the USA required it. And it is funny that until the warning appeared in the EU only Americamn drinkers blamed sulphites in wine on headaches etc. Indeed you'd read on wine forums posts from Americans who praised the 'sulphite free' wine they enjoyed in Europe only to suffer again when they returned home to the USA. Ofcourse the only difference was the label on the wine. Now the EU has copied the USA all of a sudden European wine drinkers are blaming sulphites for all sorts of ills.
I think it is better to have wine with sulphites than wine without, and since we, our parents and their parents and their parents back the beginning of recorded winemaking history have been drinking wine with sulphites quite happily, I won't be letting a new label on wines affect my drinking habits, and neither should you.