I am not an expert (to put it mildly) about whether the systemic use of chemicals in vineyards and the cocktail of allowable additives used to stabilise wines is injurious to human health. It is always tricky to prove cause and direct effect. We are told by some scientists that chemicals present in wines in such homeopathic quantities are not dangerous to individuals. However, the use of chemicals on the farm must have an effect on the very nature of the plant, its composition, its flavour, its nutritional impact.
We can pick and choose our scientific surveys. Perhaps, a more simplistic approach might clarify the issues.
Chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides are all designed to address and eliminate problems in the vineyard in the interest of efficient production. The majority of these –cides will carry varying levels of toxicity. In certain environments, mass spraying has led to high local incidences of cancers. Any solution that kills or incapacitates one thing will inevitably impact on the microbial life of the soil and may run off into the water supply. Walk in any chemically-treated vineyard and you will feel that you are in a dead zone, a place damaged soils, and absence of insect and bird life.
This is not just a local vineyard problem. Chemical spraying results in environmental degradation, the destruction of biodiversity. Vineyards become monocultures; grapes to be grown at all costs.
Why natural wine?
The best natural wines are born in organically and regeneratively farmed vineyards that are teeming with life. Soils tend to have excellent structure, are aerated, full of bacterial nutrients and other materials for life, plants plunge their roots into them searching for water and minerals.
“The more stuff added in chemical processes, the less wholesome any food/drink product turns out and the more disconnected from the original food and soil we become…whose bacteria our gut systems are dependent on.” -Richard Woodfine
Some researchers such as Professor Roger Corder have asserted that certain compounds in wine are beneficial to our health such as resveratrol in red wine [The Red Wine Diet]. We also know that high- and ultra-processed foods are not good for you (see Tim Spector’s Food For Life, Guide To The New Science of Eating Well), and that elevated levels of food preservatives and sugar are detrimental to gut health. ‘Ultra-processed’ wines (including many/most mass produced wines) are high in food preservatives (sulphites) and sugar as well as a range of other additives.
Sulphites (E224) are a bactericide winemakers use to sterilise winemaking equipment and it is microdosed into wine at various stages of the winemaking process. Our gut bacteria don’t like bactericide. There is published research on the impact of sulphites on the gut of mice and at elevated levels, it ain’t good…notwithstanding the anaphylaxis response for some.
Countering this, a lot of scientists don’t believe that even high levels of free sulphites in wine can cause allergenic reactions in drinkers and cite higher levels of sulphites used in dried fruits, smoked meats and so forth.
Richard Woodfine of Woodfine Wine observes: “There are up to 70 different chemicals, agents and inputs allowed in winemaking to help winemakers engineer a taste. Some are benign (bentonite), some less so (copper sulphate/sulphites), and some are not vegan etc. Generally speaking, the more stuff added in chemical processes, the less wholesome any food/drink product turns out and the more disconnected from the original food and soil we become…whose bacteria our gut systems are dependent on.
“We know that with foods, the less processed and the less sterilised the foods are (from soil to plant to animal to food processing to our gut), the more beneficial for our gut this is. That principle – applied to wines -results in natural wines (organic land/grapes and no processing/additions).”
Dr Lucy Williamson DVM BVM&S MSc summarises the connection between chemical farming and poor health outcomes:
- Inflammation is at the root of chronic disease (eg Type 2 diabetes, cancers, obesity, heart health). Our gut microbiome is pivotal in regulating the inflammatory response in our body. Addition of chemicals and processing in food production alters our gut microbiome so it’s less favourable for our whole health.
- Globally, we know that reduced biodiversity in the land is associated with less diversity within the gut microbiome of these populations and higher prevalence of chronic disease.
- Research is showing (1) organic foods (fewer/ no agrochemicals) to be higher in gut-loving polyphenols (which are the plant’s defence system). One such polyphenol, Resveratrol, found in red wine is beneficial to our health, so clearly research within the production of natural wines and other drinks would very much help with understanding here.
The best wines function as a form of food. They nourish us and help us digest.
Each of us has a specific tolerance. My body seems to naturally reject wines with additives or high sulphites. Whether it is the sulphites alone or the fact that they are in combination with other additives or that the drink is so denatured as to be devoid of goodness and nourishment, a mild allergic reaction is triggered. When assessing wine, we talk about taste and structure and not enough about digestibility.
The best wines function as a form of food. They nourish us and help us digest. Take a little wine for thy stomach as the bible says.
References:
1. Montgomery, DR, and Biklé, A. Soil health and nutrient density: beyond organic vs. conventional farming. Front Sustain Food Syst. (2021) 5:699147. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.699147
2. Hirt H. Healthy soils for healthy plants for healthy humans: How beneficial microbes in the soil, food and gut are interconnected and how agriculture can contribute to human health. EMBO Rep. 2020 Aug 5;21(8):e51069. doi: 10.15252/embr.202051069. Epub 2020 Jul 31. PMID: 32734701;
3. E. Relaño de la Guia, C. Cueva, N. Molinero, M.J.Motilva, B. Bartolomé, M.V. Moreno-Arribas (2023). Do wine sulphites affect gut microbiota? An in vitro study of their digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. IVES Conference Series, ICGWS 2023.
4. Irwin SV, Fisher P, Graham E, Malek A, Robidoux A. Sulfites inhibit the growth of four species of beneficial gut bacteria at concentrations regarded as safe for food. PLoS One. 2017 Oct 18;12(10):e0186629. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186629. PMID: 29045472; PMCID: PMC5646858.
5. Sulfite preservatives effects on the mouth microbiome: Changes in viability, diversity and composition of microbiota,
Sally V. Irwin, Luz Maria Deardorff, Youping Deng, Peter Fisher, Michelle Gould, Junnie June ,Rachael S. Kent, Yujia Qin, Francesca Yadao
Published: April 7, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265249
Thanks to Richard Woodfine and Dr Lucy Williamson for their contributions.