sulphites in wine
Discussion
I think the short answer is choose wines from before 2005.
Since that date all wines in the EU containing more than 10ppm have to be labelled as containing sulphites. The upper limits are perhaps more important 210ppm for Whites, 400ppm for sweet wines and 160ppm for reds. Like a lot of EU regulation, this labelling is a very poor indicator of quality.
The problem is that Sulphites exist naturally in ripe fruit, so our local (Loire valley) reds tend to have the label even though the Appellation states that they can only be used to clean vats and barrels for reasons of hygiene. Oddly, our Whites tend not to have the label.
I think the problem in the UK comes from the demands of large supermarkets and merchants who want cheap wines in large quantities without returns. To fulfil this requirement the wines are killed with sulphites - they do not mature in the bottle and are meant to be drunk early. They will tend to have screw caps and plastic rather corks that allow the wine to mature.
I have seen cheap Albali in the UK with screw caps, but, in Spain, you can buy 2012-2015 Reservas in supermarkets for about €5:50 a bottle - they are superb if you like Tempranillo. You can buy cheap Rioja, but the grapes will have been delivered to the winery from 3rd party sources. The best will be from the producer’s own vines and held back as a Gran Reserva.
I do not believe that it will be easy to discover a huge selection of wines that do not contain the label.
Since that date all wines in the EU containing more than 10ppm have to be labelled as containing sulphites. The upper limits are perhaps more important 210ppm for Whites, 400ppm for sweet wines and 160ppm for reds. Like a lot of EU regulation, this labelling is a very poor indicator of quality.
The problem is that Sulphites exist naturally in ripe fruit, so our local (Loire valley) reds tend to have the label even though the Appellation states that they can only be used to clean vats and barrels for reasons of hygiene. Oddly, our Whites tend not to have the label.
I think the problem in the UK comes from the demands of large supermarkets and merchants who want cheap wines in large quantities without returns. To fulfil this requirement the wines are killed with sulphites - they do not mature in the bottle and are meant to be drunk early. They will tend to have screw caps and plastic rather corks that allow the wine to mature.
I have seen cheap Albali in the UK with screw caps, but, in Spain, you can buy 2012-2015 Reservas in supermarkets for about €5:50 a bottle - they are superb if you like Tempranillo. You can buy cheap Rioja, but the grapes will have been delivered to the winery from 3rd party sources. The best will be from the producer’s own vines and held back as a Gran Reserva.
I do not believe that it will be easy to discover a huge selection of wines that do not contain the label.
Cant recommend any but...
https://www.goodwineonline.co.uk/low-sulphite-wine...
might help.
The only wine I have drunk quite a lot of that claims to be sulphite free is Running Duck.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stellar-Organics-Running-...
ISTR they had issues with it fermenting in the bottle as we had cases of the stuff that got binned and replaced by the supplier.
https://www.goodwineonline.co.uk/low-sulphite-wine...
might help.
The only wine I have drunk quite a lot of that claims to be sulphite free is Running Duck.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stellar-Organics-Running-...
ISTR they had issues with it fermenting in the bottle as we had cases of the stuff that got binned and replaced by the supplier.
Edited by 21TonyK on Monday 7th October 11:53
21TonyK said:
Cant recommend any but...
https://www.goodwineonline.co.uk/low-sulphite-wine...
might help.
The only wine I have drunk quite a lot of that claims to be sulphite free is Running Duck.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stellar-Organics-Running-...
ISTR they had issues with it fermenting in the bottle as we had cases of the stuff that got binned and replaced by the supplier.
If you look at the back label you will see that it contains Sulphites. Getting a red wine to meet the EU standard is darn near impossible.https://www.goodwineonline.co.uk/low-sulphite-wine...
might help.
The only wine I have drunk quite a lot of that claims to be sulphite free is Running Duck.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stellar-Organics-Running-...
ISTR they had issues with it fermenting in the bottle as we had cases of the stuff that got binned and replaced by the supplier.
Edited by 21TonyK on Monday 7th October 11:53
rdjohn said:
If you look at the back label you will see that it contains Sulphites. Getting a red wine to meet the EU standard is darn near impossible.
So it does. I wonder if that has changed since I was buying it which was at least 7-8 years ago, I'm pretty sure one of its big selling points along with being vegan.Edit: google shows a lot of results saying sulphite free but obviously if its on the label(!) it cant be.
Does it make sense if its described as "no added sulphites", do the occur naturally as well?
Edited by 21TonyK on Monday 7th October 17:11
21TonyK said:
So it does. I wonder if that has changed since I was buying it which was at least 7-8 years ago, I'm pretty sure one of its big selling points along with being vegan.
I think that the beady eye of the EU will have picked them up for it. They probably thought (correctly) that it was irrelevant.I think what most people want / need to know is which wines have non- naturally occurring Sulphites and, in that respect, I am certain that it is an excellent wine for the price.
But given SA labour costs, it’s hardly surprising.
I only know about Rioja so here is my 2ps worth in order from cheap ish to pretty expensive which should be minimal on the sulphites.
Vina Ardanza Reserva. La Rioja Alta are known for their high quality production process. You can find it at Majestic, Booths etc. £18-£20. 2009 vintage.
Las Paredes Escondite del Ardacho. This is a tiny vineyard who produce only 1 or 2 barrels per year. The price is not cheap but you are getting very authentic old Rioja but produced now. £55-£60 2015/6 vintage.
Lopez de Heredia Tondonia. Some specialist wine shops will have something from the 1980s. I bought a 1980 bottle for my wife last year for a special occasion and it was pretty good. £150-£200. 1980s vintage.
Vina Ardanza Reserva. La Rioja Alta are known for their high quality production process. You can find it at Majestic, Booths etc. £18-£20. 2009 vintage.
Las Paredes Escondite del Ardacho. This is a tiny vineyard who produce only 1 or 2 barrels per year. The price is not cheap but you are getting very authentic old Rioja but produced now. £55-£60 2015/6 vintage.
Lopez de Heredia Tondonia. Some specialist wine shops will have something from the 1980s. I bought a 1980 bottle for my wife last year for a special occasion and it was pretty good. £150-£200. 1980s vintage.
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