Wine and sulphites, a solution looms

One of my stock questions when I meet winemakers is about sulphites. Unlike yeasts, or climate change concerns, or organics, they don’t like to talk about sulphites.

Almost all will gloss over the topic and move on as fast as they can.

I can guess why.

It’s not that sulphites are bad for most people, or even that there are a lot of them in wine (not compared to dried fruit), it’s just, I would guess, that it feels like the winemaker is somehow adulterating the wine.

Sulphites are an additive, not a necessary evil but definitely a necessary preservative for most winemakers except those in the ‘natural’ camp.

Organic winemakers such as Paul Gordon, interviewed in my last post, use them too, but minimally.

Winefolly.com has an interesting page about them. It’s here. It seems credible to me from what I have read from other sources. Their infographic really helps you put sulphites in wine into perspective.

But some people do have a problem with sulphites. A reaction of sorts. Two friends of mine do, so they seek out low sulphur wines.

Now, an inventor has come up with a solution that may broaden their average choices.

Check out http://ullowine.com.

I heard about it on the excellent UK wine show podcast.

There’s also a Kickstarter campaign so you can support its development. Let’s hope it works.