Sulphites are almost certainly not what gave you the headache.
They are the most blamed ingredient in wine and one of the least likely culprits. Here is the honest version.
Somebody has definitely told you it was the sulphites.
It is the standard explanation, offered confidently at dinner tables everywhere: red wine gives you a headache, red wine has sulphites, therefore sulphites.
It is a tidy story and it does not survive contact with the numbers. Which is worth knowing, because it means people avoid wines that were never the problem, and drink ones that were.
One thing first, and seriously: sulphite sensitivity is real. It affects a small number of people, mostly asthmatics, and it usually shows up as breathing trouble rather than a headache. If that is you, take it seriously — nothing on this page is medical advice.
A preservative, and also a by-product.
Sulphur dioxide protects wine from oxygen and from unwanted microbes. Without it, wine is fragile: it can oxidise, refermenting or spoiling on the way to you.
Every wine contains some, whether or not any was added, because fermentation itself produces a little. A bottle labelled "no added sulphites" is not a bottle with none.
In the EU a label must say "contains sulphites" above ten milligrams per litre, which almost all wine exceeds. That warning is an allergen notice, not a quality judgement — and the same substance is used far more heavily in dried apricots than in any wine.
The likelier suspects are duller.
White wines generally carry more added sulphur than reds, because they need more protection. If sulphites caused red wine headaches, white wine would cause more of them. It does not.
What is left is less exciting: alcohol itself, dehydration, histamines, tannins, and simply how much was drunk. One recent line of research points at quercetin, a compound found in grape skins and therefore more present in reds — interesting, and not yet settled.
The practical advice has not changed in a hundred years and is annoyingly effective: drink water alongside, and drink less of the wine.
A trade, not a health claim.
Several bottles on our shelf are made with very little added sulphur — the Etna red uses barely any. That is a stylistic and philosophical choice, not a wellness feature, and we are not going to sell it as one.
What you get is a wine that tastes more alive and more specific. What you give up is stability: these bottles dislike heat, dislike being left standing, and are better drunk than stored.
Which is one more argument for a short list. We open what we will finish.
Come and have a glass of water with it.
Genuinely. That is the whole trick, and it works better than switching wines. We stop at a hundred pizzas a day — the earlier you come, the better your chances.
The things people actually ask.
Q.Do sulphites in wine cause headaches?
There is no good evidence that they do. White wines generally contain more added sulphur dioxide than reds, yet red wine is far more often blamed for headaches. Genuine sulphite sensitivity exists but is uncommon, affects mainly people with asthma, and typically causes respiratory symptoms rather than headaches. Alcohol, dehydration, histamines and tannins are more likely explanations.
Q.Is there such a thing as sulphite-free wine?
No. Fermentation itself produces small amounts of sulphur dioxide, so all wine contains some. "No added sulphites" means none was added beyond what the wine made itself. In the EU, any wine above 10 mg per litre must carry the words "contains sulphites", which covers almost all wine.
Q.Is natural wine better for you?
It is still alcohol, and alcohol is the main variable in how you feel the next day. Low-intervention wine is a choice about flavour and farming, not a health product, and it should not be sold as one.