Do all wines contain Sulfites?
Nearly all wines now sport the label “Contain Sulfites,” a mandated warning statement. Potassium metabisulfite – sulfite for short – is added to wine and other foods to protect against oxidation, discoloration, and microbial spoilage. Without sulfites, few wines would last much more than a year in the bottle. Two critical points to understanding the use of sulfites in wine: First, fermentation yeasts make some sulfites all by themselves, as do almost all living creatures. As such, all wines have some sulfites in them. Second, most winemakers have added additional sulfites to their wine for ages. In ancient times, sulfur was burned in the storage vessels, producing sulfites which dissolved into the wine with the same advantageous effects still sought today using more modern methods. Many food items contain much higher concentrations of sulfites than you would find in wine. While some people are sensitive to sulfites in high concentrations (as in dried fruits), it is unlikely that these
