What Does "Wine Without Sulfites" Mean?

On many a natural wine label you'll read "no sulfites" or "no added sulfites." There's an important difference between these two phrases, and it's worth knowing.

What sulfites actually are

Sulfites (sulfur dioxide, SO₂) are a compound that acts in winemaking as a preservative and antioxidant. They protect wine from oxidation (contact with oxygen, which can spoil colour and aroma) and inhibit the growth of unwanted bacteria and wild yeasts that could cause faults in the wine. Sulfites have been added in winemaking for centuries, and the vast majority of producers worldwide still use them today — in varying amounts, depending on the wine style and the cellar's philosophy.

"Without sulfites" doesn't literally mean zero

A detail many people overlook: yeasts naturally produce small amounts of sulfites during fermentation, entirely independent of whether the producer adds any or not. That means practically every wine in the world contains at least trace amounts of sulfites.

So when a producer says their wine has no sulfites, they almost always mean: no added sulfites — no additional sulfur dioxide was added at any stage of production, whether at harvest, during fermentation or before bottling. The naturally occurring sulfites from fermentation remain in the wine regardless, just in a much smaller amount than if the producer had added more.

Why some producers choose not to add them

Wine without added sulfites is more delicate — it can oxidize faster, is more susceptible to microbiological shifts, and can change more quickly during storage or transport than wine with added sulfites. This approach therefore demands more attention from the producer when it comes to cellar hygiene, storage temperature and handling the wine.

Producers who choose the path without added sulfites anyway usually do so because they want to intervene in the wine as little as possible and let it show the character of the grape, the vintage and the place it comes from as authentically as they can.

At Vina Durcik

We don't add sulfites to any of our wines — Naret, Vitovska or Teja. The same goes for added yeasts and filtration. For us, this is part of a broader approach: as little intervention as possible, so the wine stays as close as it can to what came about in the vineyard.

Because these are wines without added sulfites and without filtration, they can be more sensitive to temperature swings than more conventionally made wines — so we recommend storing them somewhere cool and dark. Read more in How Should You Store Wine?