Organic wines may contain sulfites, albeit to a lesser extent than conventional wines. In fact, the addition of sulfur dioxide is one of the oenological practices allowed by reg. EU 203/2012, which introduced the concept of organic wine, and its requirements.
Three categories of organic wines
Moreover, the label allows us to distinguish three categories of ‘organic’ wines:
– Bacchus nectar, when completely devoid of the substances under consideration, is declaimed as ‘sulfite-free’ (or similar)
– if sulfites are present, but less than 10 mg/l, the label has no indication (neither ‘without…’ nor ‘contains…’). In this case, the list of ingredients and additives remains secret under the exemptions always granted to alcoholic beverages,
– if sulfites are instead contained in amounts greater than 10 mg/l, the most common scenario on closer inspection, the words ‘contains sulfites’ (mandatory under the allergens directive, now included in EU reg. 1169/11) appear.