Wine added sulfur

Sulfur is used in winemaking for its antiseptic and antioxidant. It helps stabilize the wines. At high doses, the sulfur can affect the body and tends to harden the wine. For these reasons, the best winemakers today use only the minimum amount of sulfur to provide some stability to the wine without altering qualities. In the best wines, the levels of sulfur are generally small enough to no longer pose a problem.


To go further, some growers do any more sulfur in winemaking. These wines are very few but are very much about them. They have been popularized by a few wine bars in Paris. Wines with no added sulfur conditions require absolutely impeccable winemaking (an exercise in tightrope walking: a single misstep is fatal) and then optimal conditions of storage and preservation, and in any case 14 ° C, conditions that most wine merchants and individuals can not.

While some wines are delicious with added sulfur, with a beautiful pure expression, others may have significant deviations or premature oxidation. It is mostly white which will cause much concern to the amateur because the tannins in red wine are act as antioxidants and protect the wine. The white wines with added sulfur can turn brown, or in the bottle or the glass after a few minutes and develop flavors of nuts in the best case, but also fermentation aromas of overripe apple, or even backyard. Especially on this type of wine that has developed a small controversy, supporters of these wines without sulfur highlighting the vibrancy of the wine and arguing the need to redefine our codes tasting. For everyone to have their opinion …

Note: The wine may contain sulfur from grapes, the term “sulfur-free wine is unfit anything … except it is seen as a simplification of” wine without added sulfur.

Definitions
Finally, the sulfur exists in wine in two forms:

• 1. sulfur combined: the sulfur, natural or added, which was associated with other components of wine, such as sugar, alcohol or yeast.
• 2. free sulfur: the sulfur is still available to join. It is present as dissolved gas. He can cause high dose of headaches or stomach.
  The total sulfur is the sum of free sulfur and sulfur combination. The normal proportion is 1 / 3 of free and two thirds of handset.

• Token amounts of total sulfur for a dry white wine:
• European Standard: <210 mg / L
• Demeter Specifications: <90 mg / L
• The words “contains sulfites” must appear on the label if the total sulfur content exceeds 10 mg / L. This limit is very low for medical reasons, it is not really relevant in the context of the tasting, it will be useful to people allergic to sulfur.