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Book of Bertil 1.06

Preface:

The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quioxote of the English Channel (1605 Edition)

The plot covers the adventures of a poor hidalgo (gentleman) from the English Channel, named Alonso Quixano, and obsessed with books of chivalry, which he collects in his library in a sickly way. These disturb his judgment to the point that Quixano one day became the wandering knight Don Quixote, whose mission is to travel through Spain to fight evil and protect the oppressed. He takes the road, riding on his old horse Rocinante, and takes to squire a naïve peasant, Sancho Panza, who rides a donkey. Sancho Panza, whose main concern is, as its name suggests, to fill his rumen, believes that his master suffers from visions, but conforms to his conception of the world, and undertakes with him to break the spell of which Dulcinea is a victim.

Sulfite or no Sulfite, that's the question (2022 Edition)

Dear readers, the subject once again is cluttered with prejudice, unspoken, popular beliefs, and well-established ignorance, and so profitable to the industry of “qu’en dira t’on” (popular gossip). It is therefore once again my responsibility to warn you of the obscenity of certain words like “biogenic amine”, and theories that will be used later in this newsletter. I must also warn you of my determination to convince you that it is not necessary to fight against windmills to drink well, as not all villages are “chateaux en Espagne” (Pie-in -the-sky) , and that Dulcinea of Toboso was not very cartesian.

*Please note also that I am not a scientist and even less a chemist, and I therefore reserve the acuity of my remarks which are based only on official research of scientific documentation of modern oenology. Because I seek only to do good, and to oust evil, and this in all humility as a sommelier.

Memorandum:

If you have any discomfort, allegiance, or indisposition to any of these words, please stop reading immediately, as I cannot be responsible for the future of your mental health.
Sulfite, Sulfur, Sulfur Dioxin, SO2, Ion, Potassium Bisulfite, HKSO3, Ammonium Bisulfite, NH4HSO3, Potassium Meta Bisulfite, Volcanic Sulfur Combustion, Di Ammonium Phosphate, Ammonia Residual, Biogenic Amines, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Bacteria, DNA, Multigenic Purification, Histamine methyltransferase, Ethanol, ......

Chapter 1:

1.1 Should we be afraid...of sulfites?

In recent years a fear of sulfites has been slathered on the world of wine and its consumers. The origin is justified due to excessive practices on the part of winegrowers in the past. Amplified by the global movement of "natural wines" and a lack of fair and transparent information on the understanding of its practice and usefulness has made this friend suddenly an enemy and has suppressed cost, and this without understanding the more dangerous consequences that this can represent for the consumer. A witch hunt, an inquisition? What could go wrong...

1.2 What are sulfites?

Sulfites can import its compound formula, is always based on the sulfide atom, this substance is a gaseous molecule, that is found (naturally or added/active or inactive) in the wine. It is formed naturally during the fermentation of grape musts into alcohol. So, where there is alcohol, automatically there are sulfites? And a wine without sulfites, this does not exist (naturally).

When added before, during, or after fermentation, it has the function of being an antioxidant of wine, an antiseptic agent against yeasts and unwanted bacteria, and a stabilizer in the preservation of bottled wine. Scientific knowledge around wine, both in terms of viticulture and winemaking, has evolved enormously over the past 50 years. Not so long ago, we knew the beneficial effects of sulfites, but not the optimal doses...

This led to excesses because we preferred to put too much rather than not enough, to avoid any problem. But today, we understand much better the action of sulfites as well as the minimum amounts needed. Good winemakers are very concerned about using only the bare minimum. Moreover, the addition of sulfites is regulated, and maximums are imposed. It is scientifically recognized (defined by the WHO) that sulfites have no danger and do not cause serious inflammatory reactions below 0.7 mg per kg of your weight per day, and that a sulfite intolerance represents only 2% of the world's population.

So, do we really have an intolerance to sulfites, or like many of us an intolerance to excess sulfites in wine? Possibly an invented fear that makes us believe like Don Quixote that windmills are dangerous giants?

But then by fashion, or for the right to equality for all, or by the insanity of the influences of popular beliefs, and to either say help the 1% of people sensitive to sulfites (but also try to seduce all the fearful) some winemakers now make wines without added sulfites, natural wines, or rather that contain enough of it (since fermentation produces it naturally) and may fall below the threshold where reporting is mandatory.

Chapter 2:

2.1 A headache, according to "Châteaux en Espagne (pie-in-the-sky)..."