Sulphites are preservatives and antioxidants. They are commonly used in wine to prevent unwanted bacteria spoiling the wine.
Sulphites are generally harmless unless you have an allergy to them or your body does not have the correct enzymes to break them down. You’ll find that if you do have an allergy, you’ll notice it in foods before wine as foods generally have a high sulphur content. If you find you only react to wine, then it could be something else in the wine and not the sulphur. It’s also important to understand that a sulphur allergy may develop over time, so just because you were fine 5 years ago, doesn’t mean that you won’t have a reaction to it now.
We often hear people say to us that they can’t drink wine because the sulphur gives them a headache. It doesn’t necessarily mean the sulphur is giving them a headache as wine also contains other compounds such as histamines and tannins which are most likely connected to the headaches. A lot of dried food has 10 times more sulphur than wine, so if you can consume dried fruits without a headache, then it’s likely that the wine won’t cause a headache.
One important thing to remember, is that sulphites are a natural by-product of the yeast during fermentation, so even if you do not add them to the wine, the wine naturally will still contain a low level.
A lot of people who have tried our wines have told us that they don’t have a reaction like they do with some other red or white wines. Could be worth a try?