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Although we may be aware that wines contain sulfites, and have associated them with effects such as a hangover the next day or flushing of the cheeks, there are perhaps many people who are unaware of what this compound is really all about. The question that might arise then is: why do wines contain sulfites?
In a Food & Wine interview, Cleveland Clinic describes sulfites as chemicals used as preservatives that occur naturally in some foods and beverages; while they are added to others to prevent them from spoiling.
There are several reasons why wines contain sulfites. As Timothy Buzinski, assistant professor of wine and beverage studies at the Culinary Institute of America, puts it: ‘Although yeast usually creates small amounts, most sulfites are produced by the addition of sulfur dioxide during the winemaking process. With sulfur dioxide, oxidation and bacterial growth in the wine is therefore prevented. However, sulfites, as mentioned above, are intrinsically found in wine, regardless of whether sulfur dioxide is added.
If the idea is to maintain and age wines, and prevent them from oxidizing or acquiring off-flavors, sulfites need to be added. ‘They serve to protect the wine during the aging, transportation and storage processes, as well as during exposure to sunlight, temperature variations and anything else that can damage and spoil the wine’.
Despite ‘that need’, the use of sulfites is currently much lower than before, especially as a result of the rise of wine bars that base their proposal on natural or organic wines without sulfites, which serve more hygienic and concentrated references that do not add agents that alter them in any way.
