Sulfite allergy

Bob - What makes you think you are allergic to sulfites? I ask because there are so many foods that contain sulfites you will really have to be careful what you eat. Also, sulfite allergy is mentioned as a problem with some people who have headache trouble with wine when the problem is not sulfites but histamines and other wine constituents.

You can make wine without sulfite. Just don't expect it to last for years.

If you mean what can a person use to sanitize equipment in lieu of sulfites you can use chlorine. It must be rinsed several times to remove all traces or your wine taste will suffer. Iodophor is a good alternative as a sanitizer and there are other. But cleaning well after and before use is just as good IMO for winemaking.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas

I'm no expert on sulfite free winemaking, but a few ideas that pop to mind...

Use a good non-sulfite sanitizer on everything. I like Star San, since it is fast acting, does not require rinsing, and keeps well in solution. Iodophor and bleach are other options.

Keep your pH levels down by whatever means you can.

Avoid oxidative handling. Rack carefully with no splashing, or use an inert gas blanket.

Brian

Sulfite free wine will not keep as long so aim for lower alcohol wines,

You should also consider getting an inert gas system to protect your wine when racking and bottling. This should help a lot.

Ray

I know people have been medically diagnosed allergic to SULFAS (?) but not sulfites. I agree with some of the other posts in that sulfites are typically not what you're allergic to unless you cannot eat, say, canned foods.

Also, you _cannot_ make wine without sulfites - they are a naturally occurring compound resultant of fermentation, albeit it at much lower concentrations than we add for preservation.

Bob,

Ditto all the above.

Here are some ideas:

2) If taking an over-the-counter antihistamine tablet prevents wine from giving you a headache, that pretty much confirms histamines as the problem.

4) Chlorine is an even stronger oxidizer than oxygen. It won't support bacterial spoilage, but it will chemically oxidize the wine & taste "off".

Luck, Mike MTM

You can use chlorine for cleaning non-porous equipment, but you don't want ANY trace of it in your wine! That means very thorough rinsing after cleaning anything with bleach.

Tom S

It is not very well understood - some blame the tannins in red wine. Red wines also have up to 200% more histamines than white wines and this may cause allergic reactions inducing headaches. There are many components of wine and it is difficult to blame any one of them.

Here's an interesting web page about red wine headaches for more information:

Greg,

Try this site about headache causes, especially in re Alcohol and Tyramine.

It's interesting to note that sulfites aren't mentioned at all.

HTH, Mike MTM