ABOUT WINE AND SULFITES

We are frequently asked about sulfites in our wines. Growing concerns about allergies have increased consumer awareness of sulfites but here remains a great deal of confusion concerning their role in winemaking. At lower concentrations sulfite inhibits growth of spoilage organisms in wine. At higher concentrations it can stop yeast growth and prevent re-fermentation.

Oxygen will cause your wine to become bitter tasting and develop a brownish color. Sulfites, when added to wine in small amounts, protect it from oxygen in the air or trapped in the bottle. This is what allows you to keep wine for months or years unopened in your cellar. It also allows you to open a bottle and be able to finish it the next day.

Consumers frequently assume that organic wine is sulfite-free but this is not the case. Typically, a small amount of sulfite occurs naturally in wine as a by-product of fermentation. Fermenting yeasts present on all grape skins generate naturally occurring sulfites. It is impossible for any wine to be completely free of sulfites.

Sulfite-free wines don't exist, but wines low in sulfites or free of ADDED sulfites do. Sulfites have been used as a preservative in wine making for thousands of years. Today technology allows much less sulfur and most serious winemakers and enology experts agree that a consistently stable wine, requires some sulfites added to those naturally present. Many winemakers, including those producing organic wines, add varying amounts of sulfites to inhibit spoilage and oxidation. Sulfite agents, when properly handled, are not toxic to humans or to the environment.

Carafe uses the bare minimum as our wines are not shipped around the world and are consumed in a relatively short period of time, so our wines don't need much extra protection.

According to Mitchell Zeller of the Washington, DC based Center for Science in the Public Interest; sulfites exist in a wide variety of products at levels that are comparable to, or in excess of those found in wine. Sulfites are found in products such as fruit juices and concentrates, syrups, sugar, jams, gelatins, cake toppings, baked goods, frozen vegetables, cheeses, as well as in many prescription drugs.

According to the FDA, only about 0.4% of the population, or about a million people in the  US, are considered highly allergic to sulfites. The highest risk group, are asthmatics (about 5% of the populations) and only about 5% of this group is allergic to sulfites, with asthmatic reactions being the most common adverse effect. As there is no test for sulfite allergy, a person who suspects sulfites are affecting their health, should check food labels, take note of how they feel after ingesting foods with sulfites, and abstain in the future.

WINE EXPECTATION

Some of you may already have heard of a recent study by Stanford University on how the human brain responds to the perception of "expensive" versus "inexpensive" wines.

They had people sample five different Cabernet Sauvignons with prices that ranged from $5 to $90 per bottle. However, the Scientists switched the wines! In the study, the tasters consistently stated that the more "expensive" wines tasted better than the "inexpensive" ones.

The Scientists monitored each taster's brain to see how they responded to each wine. When tasters were told they were sipping more expensive wine, they found greater activity in a part of the brain that is known to register the experience of pleasure. People expected the expensive wines to taste better, so their brains fulfilled these expectations. Researchers are learning how our brains are not as objective as we have long assumed. Our mental expectations actually shape our world, affecting what we really perceive to hear, smell and taste. The part of the brain that develops our expectations can over-ride our senses. This research (and many other such studies) indicates that we experience reality not necessarily as it is, but rather as we expect it to be!

The temperature's rising...

And our MIST WINES are cool!

Save 10% on your next batch

Until May 31st, 2008

Perfect for those lazy, hazy, summer days in the sun, our lower alcohol Mist wines make a refreshing alternative to coolers or beer. The perfect balance of fruit and wine - not too sweet, yet not too dry. Let our Mist wines whisk you away to a place where the soft breeze blows with the scent of rich, ripe fruit.

     Ocean Breezin offers the succulent mouth-watering flavors of sweet raspberries delectably blended with the ever-popular White Zinfandel

Satisfy your passion for exotic flavors with Splash - a heady blend of juicy blackberries and currants with smooth as silk Merlot!

Do you enjoy designing graphics?

Use this rare opportunity to set your  imagination and skills loose!

Enter

Carafe's Label Design Contest

Design a new and unique wine label, based on one of our new wine names. If your design is chosen, you could win 30 bottles of wine with your professionally printed label plus more!

Grand Prize (1 Winner) is a Private Wine Tasting Party at Carafe for you and up to 10 friends!. Enjoy delectable finger foods paired with wines that complement and inspire. Plus, just for you, we will hand craft a batch of 30 bottles of the wine you have helped to promote, sporting your eye-catching label design on each bottle. Boasting rights included! (Retail Value of over $300.00)

Second Place (4 Winners)

30 bottles of your winning wine with your unique label! (Retail value of over $250.00)

Who can Enter?

Carafe WInemakers invites anyone with an interest in graphic design and wine to enter their creative skills in the contest. Contestants must be of legal drinking age. No purchase is necessary.

What to Create?

Visit the Carafe Website for all the details. www.carafewinemakers.com Select from our list of wines. Create your design for the wine and name you have chosen. Send in your entry in the required artwork format by the Contest deadline of July 31, 2008. (Please refer to Artwork Specifications. Artwork submitted outside of spec may be disqualified.) There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit! Winners will be chosen and notified by August 31st, 2008.