October Wine Club Musings...

ADDITIVES

So I touched a little on the use of Sulfites in wine making in last months notes and I wanted to elaborate a little on the other additives that are used in conventional wine making.  The use of upwards of 60 additives are legally permitted in the wine making process whilst consumer perception is often that wine is made solely from ‘grapes.’  Obviously this topic is huge and I invite you to research it yourself but I will give a few examples…  Conventional wine making often uses specially created yeasts to add certain flavors whilst, in the main, natural wine makers use ambient or naturally occurring yeasts.  Sweeteners and coloring can be added to improve wine, as can fining agents (which often raises the issue of ‘vegan’ wine as this can be egg white, fish bladder, protease amongst others) and chemical compounds to stabilize.  As I say, this is really the tip of the iceberg but it is often these ‘nasties’ in conventional wine that contribute to ‘hangovers’ as opposed to the fermented grapes themselves.  I am always happy to chat or steer you towards information if you’re interested in the topic!