No, You're Not Allergic to the Sulfites in Wine

• There is such a thing as a sulfite allergy but it cause symptoms of an allergic reaction (ie an asthma attack itchy or swelling of the tongue/mouth, not just a headache. There are many foods out there that contain sulfites and if you can eat these without a reaction, you probably don't have a sulfite allergy.  Baked goods Soup mixes Jams Canned vegetables Pickled foods Gravies Dried fruit Potato chips Trail mix Vegetable juices Sparkling grape juice Apple cider Bottled lemon juice and lime juice Tea Many condiments Molasses Fresh or frozen shrimp Guacamole

• As with all these articles on Wine and especially the additives in wine, Every critic that can barely write more than one sentence claims to know all about Chemistry mix of organic wine and the people that consume them.  All very misguided people that write as if they are experts. Just because it is written in a printed magazine or online it is fact.. NOT SO. Please will somebody do some factual research before blabbering such nonsense again about So2 in wine. SO2 turns to Sulphuric Acid when added to water. Drink up those that think that is good for you...... For everybody else there are over 150 producers making "No Added So2" wines and about 30 wineries that i know of, many of which are in nearly every wine store in the US, making 100% organic wine certified by the FDA  with FDA lab certificates showing 0 Parts per Million SO2. Go figure why SFoodie...

•   I’ll definitely be updating the blog with any news on the outcome.

• actually when i went to read the original article it is evident that the only thing he was trying to dispel is the "sulfite headache" myth- the author freely admits that there is a large portion of the population allergic to the sulfites:  "​So why does the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau require that winemakers write "contains sulfites" on the label? The requirement is owed to the fact that 5 percent of asthmatics can have a violent reaction to sulfites. Until the Common Market Organisation reforms of the 1990s, European Union winemakers were not required to write "contains sulfites" on the label."

• Sorry, but I disagree. People are allergic to sulphites and benefit from no sulphur added wines.

• Red Wines contain a higher amount of histamines. Might it be those and not the sulfites that cause problems?

• > yet the people who claim to be allergic to sulfites say they can drink white wine but not red. Then it's pretty reasonable to rule out sulfites as a cause of red wine allergies. > BTW, an asthma attack is pretty extreme. Are you sure that's what it is? She is sure, inhaler and everything, so I buy it. I think the likeliest explanation is a reaction to something in red wine. But of course it could be a million other things. AFAIK there's no scratch test evidence or anything like that in this case.

• Really? I think food reactions are not that hard to pin down when they happen quickly and consistently. Things that take hours or days to manifest can be tricky. When my tongue swells and my throat starts itching minutes after I take a sip of white wine, well, there's not much mystery, is there? It's not like I have a Ritual Wine Meal. Shockingly, I sometimes forego the cheese and crackers. Sometimes, even the glass! (I'm allergic to most whites and not most reds. Maybe I'm *actually* allergic to sulfites! But you're right that the actual molecular trigger could be any number of things.)

• The article said white wines often have more sulfites in them, yet the people who claim to be allergic to sulfites say they can drink white wine but not red. Allergies are notoriously hard to pin down, especially when food is involved. You would have to make a list of all the things that friend of yours eats, drinks, and breathes around the time that he takes a sip of red wine, and then eliminate them one by one before you can narrow it down to the known allergen. Also, your friend needs to ask himself whether he gets asthma attacks at other times. BTW, an asthma attack is pretty extreme. Are you sure that's what it is?

• So when is SFWeekly going to bust the gluten-intolerance/allergy fallacy? Celiac disease, yes. Gluten allergy, unproven. 

• Hmm. I have a friend who gets really nasty asthma attacks when drinking red wine. That doesn't mean it's the sulfites, but it's definitely an allergic reaction and not a hangover or misinterpreted capillary swelling. It's one (reasonable) thing to deny that sulfites are the cause (although if there's a higher concentration of sulfites in red wine, we could still claim a correlation), another (unreasonable, unfounded, likely to piss people off) thing to deny that there are people who suffer allergic reactions to red wines. Be careful.

• Bravo truth teller.  It is also true that sulfites, which are the net end result of sulfur, occur naturally in wine, as they occur naturally in grapes, as the sulfur occurs naturally in the soil.  So true "sulfite free" wine probably doesn't exist at all - though "no sulfites added" does. Some very careful (some would say eccentric, others would say perfectionist), wine makers make wine without adding sulfur, but its comes with a high risk of sucking.  When done right, they can be exceptional though, even if some argue their ageability is limited. The other reason people get headaches - they drink cheap ("crappy") wine which may have relied on other additives that need not be disclosed for flavor, stability or color and which always seem to make me feel like c$&* the next day, even when consumed in moderation.

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