European Wine Questions: 1. Sulfites and 2. Recommendations
 

I notice that when I'm in Europe, Italy especially it seems, the wine does not cause my asthma to act up. Someone I know just told me she finds that to be the case for herself as well and that it is because European wine doesn't have sulfites in it. Does anyone know if this is true? Might it be true of wine that is for European use only? Might it be true of certain Italian wines only? (I ask this because when we buy French wines in the states, it does cause my asthma to act up, and, I'm pretty sure, it says that it contains sulfites AND because I think that my France travel experiences have tended to exacerbate my asthma, unlike my Italian travel experiences.)

ALSO, I love the lightness--almost wateriness--of Italian wines, especially the roses. Is there a particular wine that is readily available in the U.S. that approximates that smooth drinkability.

And, finally, please excuse the total ignorance I'm displaying. As you can tell, I am not a connoisseur.

ALL wines, with the exception of a few organic wines, have sulfites in them. There is a long explanation of this on another current thread; I think it is entitled "Shipping wine..." so you can do a search for it. I am not sure which Italian wines you are referring to, as there are many many Italian wines. It sounds like you might like a light, fruity wine so I would suggest trying a riesling from Germany or California or Washington state as one of many that might suit your tastes. Both of these would be widely available in US wine shops. Of course you could also give white zinfandel a try as well..you can find it everywhere that wine is sold. Just look at the label and choose a wine with a low alcohol count..below 10%.

All wines have sulfites but the proportion can vary. Sulfites can be added as a preservative, while 'vin naturel' may be organically produced without the addition of sulfites (above the small amount that occurs naturally).

I'm guessing that these Italian wines may just have a lot less of the sulfites than Californian and French and Australian wines.

Jug wines may have more sulfites added. All wines have sulfites as a natural part of the wine making process.
Try a sauvignon blanc or a higher price rose in the US. Rose wine is NOT white zinfandel!! It can be a delicious refreshing wine.

Yes Gretchen I think we all know that rose is not white zinfandel! Guy is asking for a "watery" wine which I have taken to mean light and low acid. It is pretty hard to recommend wines based on these criteria without knowing his price point. I had a Barbera rose last week that I liked but doubt if it easy to find.

Asthmatics are more sensitive to sulfites - 5% get an adverse reaction from the substance. Generally speaking white wines have higher sulfite levels because winemakers add it to help prevent spoilage (red wine is protected by its tannins). But it may not be sulfites that you are reacting to. Are you allergic to canned pineapple? Dried fruit? They have much higher amounts of sulfites in them. Some people get "red wine headache" from either the tannins or other naturally-occuring compounds that are more common in red wine. If that is the problem some allergists recommend having a cup of black tea before imbibing - a bioflavanoid called Quercetin is supposed to inhibit the headache response. Of course, if it is tannins that you are actually allergic to then black tea would be far worse than red wine....best of luck experimenting on yourself until you (hopefully) find a workable solution.

Bob that is very interesting to me about the Quercitin. I get allergies in the fall and used to take Allegra until a friend recommended Quercitin. It really helps with the stuffiness and other problems and I wonder if that might help Guy as well with his problem.

Here is one of many articles on misconceptions regarding sulfites in wine.

http://www.appellationnyc.com/sulfites.htm

White Zinfandel is marketing name used in the 70's. In most cases if it has any pink or light red color it would be classified as a rose wine. The majority of red or black grapes have white juice and only get their red color from the maceration period with the skins. Shorter periods of this will give you varied amounts of color. After this it is pressed and fermented without the skins as you would treat a white wine (green grapes).
Red wine have been shown to give of histamines (sp?)which do give many people headaches.

You are right Stephen; I never think of white zin as rose but technically it is. It gets a bad rap but many people like it and it is surely a big seller. Thanks for pointing this out to Gretchen and myself.