MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Study shows it’s not sulphites that are giving you a headache
Bacterially created chemical compounds are found to cause allergies or intolerances in wine enthusiasts
It’s surprising how long it took for winemakers to develop a complete grasp of the chemistry involved in the transformation of grapes to wine. Scientists had put astronauts into space before oenologists fully understood what happens during malolactic fermentation. Nowadays there’s plenty of research money, but it’s usually directed at industry (rather than consumer) priorities.
There certainly hasn’t been enough of a focus on consumers’ adverse reactions to wine. This may be because producers believe they can ignore the loss to the market of wine drinkers who have developed intolerances and allergies — though the numbers are higher than they realise, and have been growing. It may also be because there’s a puritanical streak among the medical research community — many of whom are dealing with life and death issues — so a few people doing without the occasional glass of wine is hardly a concern...
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