The Truth about your Glass of Wine

“Natural” is the buzzword in the wine industry at the moment. Natural wines are made with the least interference possible, leaving nature to run its course and, theoretically, producing a wine that is as pure as possible. Great idea, eh? But so-called “natural” wines only account for a super small percentage of the wines available to us (and I doubt you’ll find any in your local Tesco) which begs the question: what chemicals are in the wines we normally drink??

The thing to remember is that not all additives in wine are bad, so long as they are used sparingly. Here’s a list of the most common additives you’ll find in your wine this weekend.

 

THE GOOD

Sulphites – the most controversial subject and probably the most misunderstood additive out there. Sulphur is added to wine as a preservative, to kill bacteria and yeast and to protect the wine from oxidation. Winemakers have been using sulphites for centuries, and yet people are suddenly claiming that they’re allergic to sulphites. It is worth noting that there are far more sulphites in dried fruit and oven chips than in a glass of wine, so perhaps you should cut those out your diet before you blame sulphites for your headaches.

Under EU law, maximum total sulphite levels permitted are 150mg/litre for red, 200mg/l for dry white and 400mg/l for sweet wines. You may think natural wines have zero sulphites, that is true in some cases but not all, as natural winemakers are allowed just 30mg/l for reds, 40mg/l for whites and 80mg/l for sweet wines. Minimising sulphur levels is definitely a good thing but cutting them out completely will limit a wine’s potential for ageing or being shipped for any kind of distance without oxidation kicking in.

 Lactic acid bacteria– I know this sounds strange, as I’ve just been talking about adding sulphites in order to kill bacteria. But lactic acid bacteria is added to start a process called malolactic fermentation, which turns the sharp-tasting malic acid in a wine into lactic acid which is much softer (this is the acid found in milk). This technique is mainly used in red wines and full-bodied whites.

 

THE BAD (if used carelessly…)

Fining & clarifying agents – Wine isn’t naturally crystal clear, it gets that way thanks to fining and filtration techniques that trigger a great deal of debate (this is where the question of whether or not a wine is vegetarian or vegan comes in). During fermentation and ageing, grape particles are suspended in the wine, gradually adding flavour and complexity. Most producers prefer to remove these particles before bottling, and traditionally egg whites were used because the particles clump onto the heavy egg white and sink to the bottom of the tank. The clear wine is then drawn off the top for bottling, leaving the sludge at the bottom. Nowadays, clays, milk products, and even dried fish bladders (yum) are used in fining. This is why you’ll find that a lot of natural wines are cloudy – this isn’t a fault, this is just because the winemaker has decided that any kind of filtration would remove flavour and aroma from the wine.

Sugar – in cooler climates where grapes struggle to ripen fully, winemakers will sometimes add sugar in a process known as Chaptalisation, which isn’t allowed in the World’s top wines.  

Tartaric acid – similarly, when grapes are too ripe, a winemaker may choose to add tartaric acid in order to redress the balance and stop a wine being too flabby. This is also not allowed in top quality wines.

Water – when sugar is too high and there’s a fear that the resultant alcohol will be too high, water can be added to the grape juice before fermentation to dilute it. However, adding water can mess with the pH balance, which could lead to the winemaker needing to add tartaric acid too. It will also dilute the flavours and aromas.

 

THE UGLY

Copper sulphate – this is used to remove unpleasant rotten egg aromas from a wine.  In truth, a good winemaker will have worked hard to avoid this happening in the first place, as using copper sulphate can strip the wine of aromas and flavours. TOP TIP: if you ever open a bottle of wine and get that stinky rotten egg smell, drop a penny into your glass or decanter – the smell will vanish almost immediately!  

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It is worth noting that it is mainly mass-produced wines (you know the ones!) that use the above additives as they need all the help they can get to make their wines taste good. However if you start off with excellent quality grapes, you shouldn’t need to interfere too much with the vinification process and you can keep things as natural as possible. This is the ethos of any good winemaker – put all your hard work into the vineyards and let nature take its course in the winery.

Happy Swigging!