bright, fresh peach aromas, to more of a yellow color with a more ‘candied’ fla-
vor and an aroma that is closer to dried apricots.”
Concerns such as those Pisani expressed are only compounded when wine is
exported and sits on loading docks in the heat. Sulfites act as an insurance pol-
icy; some wines
may make it
through just
fine without
added sulfites,
but if oxygen
does get in,
then the sulfites
are there to
keep the oxygen
from destroying
the wine. This ensures that the product has a consistent quality, which keeps
consumers coming back for more, Pisani says.
Organic Vintners distributes more than 50 wines “made with organic
grapes” from around the world, including five of its own private-label wines,
and Bonetti says, “I’ve tasted a lot of wines and have to admit there are some
truly great NSA wines out there—but the consistency is just not there yet and
until that is figured out, added sulfites are essential to building consumer confidence in organic wines.”
The Frey Family has been making NSA wines since 1982.
The Case for NSA Wines
The Frey family has been making certified organic wines without added sulfites since 1982. While they will admit it’s more challenging, their product is
proof that it’s entirely possible to create great wine—award-winning wines, no
less—without added sulfites. Frey has doubled in size in the past seven years,
and between 1992 and 2009, the company won close to 200 gold, silver and
bronze medals at wine competitions
around the U.S. All of the winery’s reds
can be categorized as “No Sulfites Detected,” or 0 ppm. Its whites range from
0 to 6 ppm.
“Making wine without added sulfites
is nothing new,” says Paul Frey, presi-
dent, winemaker and one of the 12 fam-
ily members who run the vineyard. “If
you look back through history, people
were making wine for nearly 10,000
years before they started using sulfites,
so the real question is, why aren’t more
people making it the traditional way?”
So what’s the secret to making a
great NSA wine? Frey credits the vine-
yard’s success to “a renaissance of the
best of traditional methods, combined
with modern technology.” Traditional
organic farming methods create a
strong foundation for NSA wines, ac-
cording to Frey. “Organic grapes have a
richer phytochemistry that helps natu-
rally protect the wine without any addi-
tives,” he says, pointing to a 2003 UC
Davis study, which found that organic
fruit contains up to 58 percent more
polyphenols and 52 percent more vita-
min C than chemically farmed fruit.
Do Sulfites Cause Headaches? Many people blame the sulfites in red wine for headaches, but Bonetti of Organic Vintners says it’s more likely that the tannins in the wine or dehydration from the alco- hol is the cause of the problem. He also points out that while red wine usually gets blamed for headaches, white wines actually have much higher levels of added sulfites. Still, there is a chance that it may be the sulfites. The FDA estimates that one in every 100 people has a sensitivity to sulfites. Reactions can range from mild rashes, headaches and cramping to anaphylactic shock. Even if you are sensitive to sulfites, though, a recent study suggests that if you drink either organic certified wines or those “made with or- ganic grapes,” you have nothing to worry about. This study, published in Thorax, a respiratory medicine journal, studied 24 asthmatics with sulfite allergies and tested their reactions to wines with added su- fites. Those in the study did not have a reaction to wines that had sulfite levels of 150 ppm or less. Wines that are “made with or- ganic grapes” are not permitted to have sulfite levels above 100 ppm, while certified organic wines have only a 10 ppm limit. On the other hand, conventional wines are allowed to contain sul- fites up to 350 ppm. In comparison, imported conventional dried apricots and sun-dried tomatoes contain an average of 600 to 800 ppm of sulfites. If you try these and don’t get a headache, then sulfites are probably not causing your issue.
