Has a friend told you they can’t drink wine because the sulfites give them a headache? I have been to wineries that market themselves as headache-free wines because they do not use sulfites. Accredited and peer-reviewed research has not been able to support this myth.
What are sulfites in wine? “Sulfites” is a term in the wine industry that refers to sulfur dioxide (SO2). They are used during winemaking and bottling to keep unwanted microbial activity from spoiling the wine.
How are sulfites used in winemaking?
After the grapes are harvested, the must or juice is fermented using yeast to convert sugars to alcohol. The type of yeast used plays a role in developing the wine’s taste profile. There are many yeast options to keep things simple; fermentation can be controlled or natural. A controlled fermentation is where a specific yeast strain is chosen with the intention of the impact it will have on the wine. To ensure that a chosen strain dominates fermentation, SO2 (sulfites) is added to remove competing microbes that could otherwise inhibit the fermentations or spoil the wine.
Natural fermentation is when the winemaker uses the yeast on the grapes or floating around in the winery. Natural fermentation is risky because the winemaker is gambling on the odds of a yeast strain that may or may not have a good impact on their wine. There are a lot of microbes in the pre-fermented juice that can have an off-putting effect on the wine. Given the high cost of wine production, it is often not worth the gamble for winemakers to use a natural fermentation process.
Sulfites are in all wines, regardless of what the wine label says. Sulfites naturally occur regardless of the fermentation method used. The US requires wine labels to disclose only if sulfites are added during winemaking (Andrew Waterhouse, UC Davis). This means that regardless of which country the wine is from or what the label says, your wine likely has sulfites.
No medical research data can support the assertion that sulfites cause headaches. Research has linked what causes wine headaches to those who drink red wine (Bakalinsky), but what causes red wine headaches has only been hypothesized up until today. The following are what research has shown to cause headaches for wine drinkers:
• Quercetin: Found in red wine and in high quantities, it can lead to a build-up of acetaldehyde, a known cause of headaches. The amount of wine you need to drink to get to problematic levels will likely make you hungover (a completely different topic).
• Alcohol: This will cause you to dehydrate
• Sugar: Sweet wines with residual sugar can accelerate dehydration.
• Less common: People with Tyramine and Histamine intolerances
Voodoo Science: My personal experience has been that lower quality (often cheaper) wines have a higher correlation to headaches than premium wines. Wineries do not have to disclose most of what they put into the wine. Cheaper wines are typically produced in large volumes that require additives to create a consistent taste, longer shelf-life, and avoid spoilage. Premium wines are given a lot of attention in a way that avoids the need for additives, and the market has a deeper appreciation for the variability of the wine, such that it expresses the nuances of the growing season. The downside is that given the labor and materials it takes to produce a premium wine; they are often expensive. No more wine headaches!
My recommendation is to drink what you love responsibly. Moderation and drinking water play a more important role in avoiding headaches than anything else.
A.T. Bakalinsky, Sulfites, Wine and Health, in Wine in Context: Nutrition, Physiology, Policy, A.L. Waterhouse and R.M. Rantz, Eds. American Society for Enology and Viticulture, Davis, 1996