If ever there were a word guaranteed to make the beverage industry shudder, it most likely would be “sulfites.”
Somehow, like clowns in the forest or alligators in the New York City sewers, sulfites in wine became the stuff of urban legend, the catalyst for every headache, migraine, and Andy Capp–style hangover.
And yet, there’s no scientific evidence to support such claims.
Though there are people for whom sulfites are a concern, the FDA estimates that only about 1 percent of Americans are sulfite hypersensitive—and 5 percent of that 1 percent of people are asthmatic. For these people, according to allergists such as those at the Cleveland Clinic, sulfites can trigger an asthmatic reaction.
But not a headache.
Rather, the so-called red wine headache is more likely the result of high residual sugar, tannins, and histamines—or even the imbiber’s dehydration.
Yet even though the science suggests otherwise, many people steer clear of red wines because they believe that the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) that’s added to wine to keep it from oxidizing is causing their headaches. Perhaps that’s because in the U.S., wines with added SO₂ must be labeled accordingly.
The sulfite warning label came about in 1986 in response to complaints about the pervasive use of sulfites—28 percent of the complaints stemmed from the use of sulfites at salad bars, where fruits and vegetables would sit in a sulfite bath; another 6 percent came from the use of sulfites in potatoes. At the time, sulfites had been linked to eight deaths, primarily people with asthma. Since 1988, the sulfite warning label has been required by law on all bottles of wine sold in the U.S. that contain 10 parts per million SO₂ or more.
Back to those people with asthma. Yes, it’s real, which means the diner who can’t have any wine with sulfites also will be avoiding the dried fruit in her salad, potatoes and fries, and probably shrimp and beer too.
Separating the allergic customer from the one who heard, somewhere, that sulfites cause headaches—and keeping a straight face while dealing with the latter—may be a Sisyphean task. Here’s how a handful of wine pros have been handling it.
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