On the label of almost any wine, regardless of its value and origin, you can now find an indication of the content of sulfur dioxide. This substance, also known as sulfur dioxide or sulfur dioxide, is classified as toxic, so the need to add sulfur dioxide to wine is often questioned. However, the use of sulfurous anhydride in the production of grape wines is quite justified and is explained by objective reasons.
Why is sulfur dioxide needed?
Sulfurous anhydride has been used since ancient times. In the Middle Ages, fumigation of wine barrels with sulfur wicks was widely used to better preserve the noble drink. Medieval winemakers were aware of the toxicity of this chemical; therefore, fumigation of wine barrels with sulfur was prohibited or limited more than once in order to protect the health of consumers.
Nevertheless, they could not abandon sulfur dioxide, and at the beginning of the last century they began to use it in the production of wine, adding this substance to wine materials or into finished wine in order to avoid the growth of harmful bacteria, mold and wild yeast.
Sulfur dioxide not only stabilizes the microflora of wine and wine materials, preventing bacterial changes in them, but also prevents oxidation. It is thanks to sulfurous anhydride that the wine retains its color, taste and aroma.
Sulfur dioxide is also able to stimulate wine fermentation, since cultural yeast does not die under its influence.
So far, it has not been possible to find an adequate replacement for sulfurous anhydride - substances with lower toxicity do not possess the necessary antibacterial and antioxidant properties, and deteriorate the quality of the drink. Only producers of expensive organic wines can manage practically without adding sulfur dioxide or a minimal amount of it - grapes for their production grow in ecologically clean areas, chemicals and modern technology are not used in the manufacture of the drink, fermentation occurs naturally. But even organic wines contain a small amount of sulfurous anhydride released during fermentation.
Quality depends on quantity
Despite all its useful qualities, sulfur dioxide remains a toxic substance that can cause serious health problems in high doses, and a strong allergen. However, in doses that cause undesirable reactions, this substance is simply not added to wine. The norms for its content in wine do not exceed 160-400 milligrams per liter of drink. At the same time, manufacturers try to reduce the content of sulfur dioxide in the finished product as much as possible, since its excess has a bad effect on the taste of wine.
The manufacturer has the right not to indicate on the wine label whether sulfurous anhydride is present in it, however, if you buy not rare organic wine, the preservative is guaranteed in the drink.
If the technological process was violated during the production of wine, its taste may change - there is a tart metallic shade, unusual for this wine, an unpleasant smell. Drinking such a drink is likely to cause headaches, nausea, and heaviness in the stomach, often mistaken for hangover symptoms. For allergy sufferers, it is better not to use such a product at all - the likelihood of undesirable reactions (up to suffocation) increases several times.
