Another Great New Wine Article

Organic Wine, A Reprieve for the Allergic

When I was a kid, I developed an allergy to peanut butter, something I loved to eat by the spoonful. While others ate it, mixing clumps with strawberry jam and putting it between two slices of bread, I stood by drooling; then, with a sense of defeat, I went to stick my head in my Easy Bake Oven. To me, there was nothing worse than being five years old and having a peanut allergy; it?s the equivalent to having a wine allergy when you?re over 21.

Lucky for me, I?m not allergic to wine. I?ve self-tested with hundreds of bottles and I can declare that I would definitely know by now. Definitely. But, many others aren?t that lucky; some people do have wine allergies, an allergy that hinders their ability to savor one of life?s greatest pleasures. This allergy leaves people with an empty wine glass, an empty wine cellar, and a unyielding impulse to look up to the sky and scream, ?Make me allergic to diary, make me allergic to cats, make me allergic to my siblings, but please don?t take away my Cabernet.?

While no one wants a wine allergy, those who have one are forced to take it seriously. This is particularly true for people allergic to sulfites, compounds often used as a means to preserve wine by helping it to avoid oxidation and spoilage. Unfortunately for those with sulfite allergies, sulfites are added to a vast majority of wines. Because of this, checking the label doesn?t just become a matter of hoping to find the best tasting wine, it also become a matter between being well and being ill.

When someone who is allergic to sulfites drinks wine containing this compound, they run the risk of experiencing an allergic reaction - an allergic reaction to wine makes a wine hang over look like a walk in the park. Some people may experience sneezing, or hives, while others may have difficulty breathing and need emergency medical attention. Sulfites can also cause anaphylaxis, the most severe of allergic reactions. During this kind of reaction, a person?s blood pressure dangerously drops and their bronchial tubes narrow, making it increasingly harder for them to breathe. If left untreated, this can lead to death in a matter of minutes. For these reasons, many people with sulfite allergies avoid wine altogether: not even the greatest wine in the world is worth compromising health.

However, luckily for those affected by sulfites, organic wine has come to the rescue, wearing a red cape and giving those allergic to regular wine a second chance.

Organic wine doesn?t necessarily mean ?sulfite free,? a tidbit of information extremely important to those sensitive to even the most minute levels of sulfites. In fact, wines are rarely sulfite-free; sulfites occur naturally in wine. However, conventional wines go above and beyond those naturally occurring, adding many more sulfites to their finished product. Organic wines, on the other hand, tend to believe that the naturally occurring sulfites are enough - they don?t want to compound the situation.

The true definition of organic wine depends on where the wine is produced. For wines produced in America, the National Organic Program, the federal agency overseeing the production of organic food, has mandated that any wine claiming to be ?organic? must not contain any added sulfites. Wines merely claiming to be made with ?organic grapes,? however, aren?t subject to these regulations. Along these lines, wines that are produced outside the US are governed under their own rules: these wines generally have added sulfites, but the amount is roughly a third of the amount found in conventional wine. Thus, for those with sulfite allergies, it?s important to read the label very carefully.

Drinking organic wine isn?t just limited to those with sulfite allergies - it?s not a secret club people are allowed into by submitting their medical records. Many people simply find organic wines better tasting, healthier, and good for the environment.

Organic wine is composed of grapes that are grown in an organic vineyard with organic farming techniques. Essentially this means that the grapes are grown in a manner void of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides and full of natural fertilizers. These vineyards also contain cover crops between their vines and work to attract beneficial insects, insects that will feed on harmful pests. Though no scientific evidence provides credence, there is speculation that drinking organic wine instead of conventional wine decreases the chance of a hang over. This has led many people down an organic path, a path paved with the healthiest of soil.

While not widely available, organic wine has recently begun to gain in popularity. Sommeliers are finally beginning to get the hint as bottles of organic Pinot Noir approach, tapping their fingers and impatiently saying, ?Ahem.? Still, organic wine remains harder to find than conventional wine - many restaurants do not serve it and some liquor stores have either no collection or one that is minimal. But, rest assured, there are places to find it, and soon they?ll be more..

Online is a great place to start, booming with shops that will ship organic wine to your house. Organic food stores - such as Whole Foods - have jumped on the band wagon as well, obviously needing a ride from drinking too much organic wine. There are also certain liquor stores that do carry a large selection of organic wines. To find one in your area, try calling around, doing an Internet search, or going to www.wine-searcher.com

It might take a little research, but you?ll be rewarded once you are cradling that organic wine in your hands, one end of the straw in the bottle the other end in your mouth. Then, it will all be worth it?naturally.

New Wine and More

Organic Wine, A Reprieve for the Allergic


When I was a kid, I developed an allergy to peanut butter, something I loved to eat by the spoonful. While others ate it, mixing clumps with strawberr...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

New Wine Items For Viewing

The FTD Greater Glory Arrangement - Standard


This striking arrangement is a beautiful study in contrasts, setting fiery red against pristine white and bold blues. Beautifully accented with assorted greenery and a blue satin bow. S30-3178S


Price: 99.99 USD



Headlines on New Wine

What is the Carbon Footprint of Your Favorite Wine?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:05:19 PDT
I was sent a message from Kim to check out the Mixx thread about the post Wine and The Ecosystem on Nature.org. Check out the post to find some great articles about the environmental concerns facing the wine industry. This post reminded me of the August environmental post which had a reference to a Treehugger article about boxed wines which according to the article, is more environmentally friendly because the materials used for boxed wines are so much lighter than bottles. I am not exactly sur

Friday Bullets: Off My Rocker Edition

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:57:22 PDT
Oh, hello. I am NOT IN A GOOD MOOD. Feel free to just leave now. Because I assure you, I don’t have much of anything nice to say. My Lupron side effects are REALLY showing up now. This week I met Mr. Night Sweat, and have also become very acquainted with Mr. Headache Behind the Right Eye ALL DAY LONG. I’ll be leaving work early today to travel with my boyfriend to Alumni Weekend at his college. I’m sure he’s REALLY looking forward to two hours in the car with Little Miss I Hate Everything. The

Untitled

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:56:27 PDT
WINE IS ART AT NMWA New York Friday October 10

Gender Roles, Cont.: In response to Frank Bruni's piece...

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:53:57 PDT
In response to Frank Bruni's piece earlier this week on gender roles, The Power of Bauer decides that the issue lies not so much with sexism in restaurants, inasmuch as inattentive, incompetent servers. While he concedes that there may be gender-specific restaurants—wine bars are the new feminine sports bars, he proclaims—he doesn't think women order differently from men, and in the end, sexism becomes a moot point if the server can read the table well. BauerBlog, previously]

Cape Town, where the mountains meet the sea - Cape Town, South Africa

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:48:55 PDT
Jump to the full entry & travel map Cape Town, South Africa Right now, it's close to sundown and we're sitting in a trendy cafe sipping a fantstic local wine at only $10 for the bottle, using their free wi fi and loving our past three days spent in Cape Town. We arrived at 5 AM local time on Wednesday, our bags made it just fine, and there was a nice man waiting for us holding a sign with our name on it (another first!). We were pretty awake, having slept so well on the plane, but

Stocks Crash, But Sex Skyrockets!

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:38:54 PDT
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you know that the economy’s in the can. Entering into the greatest fiscal depression since the ’30s can be tough, but some inventive (and horny) folks are reaching out for some, uh, sexual healing after getting canned and losing tons. As the fine folks at Gawker pointed out, there appears to be a new phenomenon on Craiglist — individuals seeking out recession sex for financial gain or creature comfort. Since last week though, the

Publishers Look to Obama to Save Their Jobs

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:34:26 PDT
We finally got a chance to take a close look at this year's Publishing Trends survey of industry professionals—half of us enjoy the work for the intellectual challenges, and the free books don't hurt, either!—and a full 81.5 percent of those surveyed say "publishing jobs in general are less secure than they were a year ago," while more than 33 percent are worried specifically about hanging on to their own jobs. Asked to reflect further on their future, the number of people who'd like to quit th


Linux Users
Wine Appraisal | Wine Appreciation

Labels: Franklin Refrigerator

Posted by Patrick Ramsey | 0 comments