Welcome to The Nanaimo Wine Shoppe

Sulphur dioxide has been used in winemaking for thousands of years, ever since the ancient Romans discovered that it would keep their wine from turning into vinegar. To this day sulphites play an important role in preventing oxidization and maintaining a wine’s freshness. They also help in the extraction of pigments in wine, making red wines “redder.”

The sulphite level in wine is measured in “ppm”, or parts per million. In Canada and the United States, conventionally made wines are permitted to contain up to 350ppm of sulphites, and in the European Union wine may contain up to 210 ppm sulphites. The current CFIA labelling requirements for Alcoholic Beverages requires any wine that contains more than 10 ppm (parts per million) sulphite to be labeled with, “Contains sulphites.”

Are Sulphites in Wine Bad?

Not for most people. There are however some notable exceptions to this rule. About 5-10% of people with asthma have severe sulphite sensitivity. Sulfur is also on the rise as a concern among the populous as a cause of health problems (from migraines to body swelling), because of its prevalence in processed foods.

Reducing Sulphites in Your Craft Wine

One of the many unique benefits of crafting your wine, is that you can customize the wine to your needs – and if reducing the sulphite levels is one of those needs, you’re in luck! If crafting in store, be sure to discuss this with your craft wine retailer and they will assist you with this. If you are crafting at home, you can opt to not add any sulphites to your wine to reduce their level. However, there will still be some present in the final product (10ppm), as it is a natural by-product of fermentation. If you are adding sulphites via the add pack, as per our instruction sheets then the final product will have between 35-50ppm. Ensuring that everything is properly sanitized when crafting your wine and using longer corks to minimize oxidation will help ensure the quality of your wine. -in formation offered by RJS winemaking-