What are Sulphites?

The majority of wine that you buy will say the words 'contains sulphites', but what does this mean?

Sulphites or Sulphur Dioxide, is often used in winemaking for it's antibacterial and its antioxidant properties. It prevents oxidisation and maintains freshness. Wine is perishable and sulphur dioxide is important to ensure that a wine lasts. Sulphites have had a bad rep in the past being linked to wine headaches, but in reality there are other things present in wine that are more likely to affect the majority of people such as alcohol, tannin or histamines.

They often have a different taste profile to normal wines (especially if you are drinking a white sulphite free wine), as they aren’t able to have as higher levels of acidity, and the bitterness is dramatically decreased on the finish. My recommendation with a Sulphite free wine is to keep on drinking. The first sip doesn’t always offer a punch of flavour, but with more sips the more the delicate flavour starts to increase.

I’ve been interested in the different flavour profiles of sulphite free so when I found 'Blanc' by Moisés Virgili Rovira (Spain) I jumped at the chance to try. Despite it's name, it's actually a red wine of Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha and a touch of Xarel Lo (a white grape found in cava). It's approachable, fresh and easy to drink and exhibits fruit driven notes of ripe red berries.

There are very few wineries out there doing sulphur free wines. A UK supplier that specialises in these is ‘Good Wine Online’ .