Cannot drink store wine

[x_diver]

I have been making wine for a little over a year. I was ready to give up wine altogether when I started because my acid reflux would flare up as soon as I began drinking store bought wine. Interestingly, though, I have no problems drinking my homemade wine. Has anyone else experienced this?


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[Boatboy24]

I haven't experienced that, but am glad you found a way to enjoy wine. I'm curious as to what kind of wine you're making: kits, country wines, juice buckets, fresh grapes?

 

[x_diver]

I make some wine from fresh fruit when I can get it at a reasonable price. Otherwise, I make it from frozen fruit, homewinery.com fruit concentrates and other miscellaneous kits.

I went on vacation last weekend and had some really nice wine in a restaurant and my acid reflux started up immediately. Just wondering if it's only me.


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[Calamity Cellars]

I find these type of statements odd. While I am not discounting your experiences I know that I make my commercial wines that are available in stores exactly the same way as I did my home wines so I am not sure how a store bought wine could cause symptoms that a home made wine does not.

 

[Runningwolf]

This does not make any sense to me either unless you're making nearly flat wine. Now with that said, I have a lady friend that said she cannot drink New York wines as she breaks out in hives and goes into an asthma attack. Thats pretty bazaar but I've witnessed it in their house and out wine tasting. Now get this, many of the grapes along Lake Erie are sourced from New York. I send Grapes/juice to the Finger Lakes and receive some from them. She wants to blame them for putting too many sulfates in the wine, I say it's all psychological.

 

[cimbaliw]

I have a couple of thoughts on the matter:
1. Perhaps commercial wines have a higher alcohol content that may worsen the reflux. Conversely, higher sugar content liquids are proven to worsen reflux.
2. It's possible that higher sulphite, or some other chemical concentration in commercial wines may also worsen the symptoms.

Are you using prilosec as a fining agent

 

[x_diver]

I was giving this some more thought. I age everything in glass. I never add oak. Do commercial wines generally get aged in oak? Wondering if this has something to do with it.

I only drink red wine. I set the alcohol in my wines to be about 10%.





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[roger80465]

I second the premise that maybe it is the sulfites. I understand the sulfite content in commercial wine is much higher.

 

[Runningwolf]

I second the premise that maybe it is the sulfites. I understand the sulfite content in commercial wine is much higher.

I don't agree with this. I use the same at home as I do commercially. You would be surprised how inconsistent wineries are with add sulfites.

 

[dking193]

I have a friend that doesn't drink much wine because he gets really red in the face after a couple of glasses. His doctor told him it might be the sulphite in wine. He claims my wine does not have the same affect. I of course use sulphites in my wine as well, but I try my best to go with minimal levels according to PH levels. My understanding is the ppm has to be pretty high to cause issues but perhaps some are more sensitive to it?

Of course the phenomenon with my friend might have something to do with free wine is much better for him.

 

[Rocky]

I definitely prefer my wine to store bought including wines that I was drinking on a regular basis just 6 years ago, before resuming home wine making. Some people refer to it as "cellar palate" where one becomes inured to the wines from his or her own cellar. If it is, it has affected many members of my family and many friends.

I think it has to do with some additive, be it sulfites or something else. I was told by wine makers in Italy that they do add extra sulfites to the wines they export, particularly to the US. This is because the wine may be in a warehouse for some number of days where temperatures can range from the 50's to over a 100 degrees F.

 

[Geronimo]

I second the premise that maybe it is the sulfites. I understand the sulfite content in commercial wine is much higher.

I agree. I have a relative that gets severe headaches from commercial white wines, but she loves mine.

I told her to try an experiment with a commercial white wine... open the bottle, decant, and wait 12 hours. Sure enough, it reduced the problem a lot.

FWIW, I have a similar reaction to nitrates in cured meats (acid reflux that makes me feel like I swallowed a handful of chemicals). I buy some uncured bacon, and I don't have a problem. Now I buy chicken sausage that's nitrate free and I'm happy as a clam!

 

[Calamity Cellars]

I second the premise that maybe it is the sulfites. I understand the sulfite content in commercial wine is much higher.

I absolutely hate this completely ignorant statement.

Sulfites in commercial wines are often lower than the home winemakers' because they (we) are better equipped to minimize O2 exposure and therefore do not need higher levels of SO2 to protect the wine. Also, we have better SO2 & pH monitoring equipment therefore you will never see a commercial winemaker adding an arbitrary '1/4 tsp to five gallons every time it's racked' as home winemakers often do. I personally know many many commecial winemakers from tiny to huge and each and every one of them want to add as little to the wine as possible not the other way around. Lastly, you should know the symptoms of a sulfite reaction before you jump to the conclusion that sulfites caused this. Sulfites cause asthmatic symptoms not what the original poster described.

What you, and many other, did by making this uneducated and uninformed statement is perpetuate a common falsehood.

 

[Calamity Cellars]

Let me say this clearly......

Sulfites do not cause headaches. Sulfites do not cause hangovers. Sulfites do not cause red cheeks. Sufites do not cause acid reflux.

There is a small percentage of the population that truly has a sulfite allergy issue. They not only cannot drink wine but cannot eat dried fruit. They cannot take sulfur based medications. They do not get the above listed symptoms.

Please google it. Read about it. Learn the truth. Stop perpetuating inaccurate information. Please, please, please

 

[Calamity Cellars]

I agree. I have a relative that gets severe headaches from commercial white wines, but she loves mine.

I told her to try an experiment with a commercial white wine... open the bottle, decant, and wait 12 hours. Sure enough, it reduced the problem a lot.

FWIW, I have a similar reaction to nitrates in cured meats (acid reflux that makes me feel like I swallowed a handful of chemicals). I buy some uncured bacon, and I don't have a problem. Now I buy chicken sausage that's nitrate free and I'm happy as a clam!

Nitrates are not sulfites.

 

[GaDawg]

I can't afford to drink the wine I have become accustomed to

 

[roger80465]

Let me say this clearly......

Sulfites do not cause headaches. Sulfites do not cause hangovers. Sulfites do not cause red cheeks. Sufites do not cause acid reflux.

There is a small percentage of the population that truly has a sulfite allergy issue. They not only cannot drink wine but cannot eat dried fruit. They cannot take sulfur based medications. They do not get the above listed symptoms.

Please google it. Read about it. Learn the truth. Stop perpetuating inaccurate information. Please, please, please

Time to dial it back a bit. If you want to educate, feel free. If you want to start name calling, you are stepping over the line.

You are entitled to your opinion. I am curious as to your MEDICAL qualifications to make such broad statements. As for 'google it', that suggests if it is on the internet, it has to be true. Are you a French model?

People react differently to many items. Just because you and your colleagues use less sulfites does not mean other wineries follow that program.

 

[dralarms]

Wow,

Take a step back, everyone. I don't know what causes the op's problems but can tell you my wife can't take sulfa or sulfar drugs and yes store bought wine makes her have an upset stomach and headaches.

She can drink mine just fine.

We are all a big hapoy family here and there is no reason for anyone to take offense at each other.

And as far as "cellar palette", I nevef could drink store bought wine, could barely stand local winery fair, as far as mine I can drink all I want and I love it. Every "wine drinker" that I give my stuff to tells me mine is the best they ever drank.

 

[Julie]

Calamity Cellars, you need to calm down. If you feel the need to be rude to people, take it to a pm.

 

[Stressbaby]

Actually I thought it was a good post. Too often we react to anecdotes, then those stories are repeated, then they become legend, then "truth." How many times have you heard of someone getting sick from a flu shot? Same thing. Nobody gets sick from a flu shot. Period. There is no living, viable infectious agent in a flu shot. And there is no need for a medical degree to know this information.
And before anyone asks for my medical qualifications, I'm a doctor.


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