Wine additives are commonplace in much of the industrial wine world. They offer growers unprecedented control over nearly every aspect of the winemaking process. There are additives for color, texture, flavor, sweetness, clarity, fermentation speed, and more.
But there’s a debate among winemakers: are additives a mark of progress, to be welcomed into winemaking? Or are they shortcuts that produce inferior wine? And more importantly, are wine additives safe?
This article will take a closer look at wine additives, what they do, and how they affect both your health and the wine you drink.
What Are Wine Additives?
Wine additives are substances added during winemaking that correct, stabilize, preserve, or otherwise improve the final wine. [*]
There are many types of wine additives. They can include: [*]
- Preservatives that stop wine from spoiling
- Fermentation enhancers that speed up and stabilize fermentation
- Colorants that make change a wine’s color
- Defoaming agents that stop tanks from overflowing during fermentationFining agents that remove cloudiness and make wine less bitter.
Additives are most popular with high-volume commercial winemakers. They allow consistency: you can make a name-brand wine that tastes exactly the same from bottle to bottle, year after year.
However, many smaller producers also use additives. Additives can save harvests from problems with fermentation or aging. They can also improve the profile of wine that doesn’t turn out quite how the winemaker wants.
Some additives are natural and have been used for millennia. For example, biodynamic winemakers may save some unfermented grape juice from their harvest and add it to their finished wine, to adjust acidity or sweetness.
Other additives are more controversial. In the United States, for example, commercial producers often use Mega Purple. It’s an ultra-concentrated syrup that adds color and body to red wines, making them seem higher in quality. While it’s legal in the US, Mega Purple is not allowed in the European Union. [*]
Are Wine Additives Safe?
The short answer is: it depends on which government you ask.
- Europe bans many additives that are allowed in the US. The reason is a difference in how they approach food safety.
- Europe takes a preventive approach to wine additives. It allows 59 additives, all of which must undergo extensive safety testing before they’re approved. [*]
The US takes a reactive approach. It allows 76 additives, and only bans substances if research definitively shows that they cause human harm. [*]
The US also allows larger amounts of some additives. For example, US wine can contain nearly twice the sulfites of European wine. [*][*]
In general, US wine allows more wine additives, in higher amounts, with less oversight. European wines, by contrast, tend to be more natural.
How Can You Tell if Wine Has Additives?
In virtually every other consumable good industry—food, beauty, personal care products—ingredient lists are mandatory. You can look at the label and know exactly what you’re getting.
But because wine is taxed as alcohol, not food, the government doesn’t require producers to disclose ingredients. The one exception is sulfites; about 1% of the population is allergic to them, so they have to be listed on wine labels. [*]
Because winemakers don’t have to disclose ingredients, you can never be sure what’s in your wine. Even high-end conventional wines often contain additives.
How to Avoid Additives in Wine
If you don’t like the idea of additives in wine, you can follow a simple rule-of-thumb:
- Commercial US wines have the most additives and the least regulation.
- European wines have fewer additives and better regulation.
- Natural or biodynamic wines have few to no additives, and are often made with only grapes.
