Deerfield Ranch Winery Crafts Clean Wine

07 Aug 2013 --- Sonoma Valley based Deerfield Ranch Winery is at the forefront of innovation when it comes to crafting the highest quality wines. Deerfield's organic and biodynamic farming practices lead the way to crafting Clean Wine. Clean Wine is for anyone that watches what they eat and consumes organic foods.

People that have ever experienced an allergic reaction to wine should take particular notice. Allergic reactions can range from wine headaches, to flushed cheeks and even hives.

Clean Wine is a term that Deerfield created and is trademarking so people with sensitivities can easily identify wines with low sulfites and low histamines.  People who suffer from allergic reactions to wine can usually drink Deerfield wines.

When asked what the motivation was to make Clean Wine, Winemaker, Robert Rex, laughed and said, "I just make wine my wife, PJ, can drink." PJ, Owner and Managing Partner of Deerfield Ranch, is extremely allergic to sulfites and gets red wine headaches.

The idea of Clean Wine is further supported by a current thesis being developed at California Polytechnic State University about how to market Clean Wine to consumers.

The demand for Clean Wine is in the marketplace and growing.  It begins with wine consumers that are health conscience and ends with those that have allergic reactions to wine.

Wine headache sufferers can rejoice and invite wine back to their dinner tables and parties.

Most people think they are allergic to wine, the tannins, or the sulfites in the wine.  Consumers need to look further beyond tannins and sulfites.  What really affects them is the histamines in red wine.

Histamines are produced during the fermentation process by an interaction of the yeast and bacteria. By reducing bacteria in the fermenter Deerfield reduces the source of unwanted histamine production. The result is a cleaner wine, low in histamines and sulfites.

Elevated levels of sulfite may cause allergic reactions such as breathing problems, hot flashes, red flush of the face, ears and neck, puffiness and hives.

Deerfield triple hand sorts their grapes to remove damaged grapes that have high levels of bacteria, keeps a clean fermentation environment and monitors the yeast for stress levels.

According to Chris Sikorski, Owner of three Cork wine shops in Calgary, this is a growing category. "Every day, we have 3 or 4 people come into our shops asking for wines with no sulfites or a red wine that won't give them a headache. Those who get headaches and have reactions to most wines can usually drink Deerfield wines without ill effects."

Deerfield is committed to leading the way in the future development of Clean Wine.  They have identified the problem, the cause and have created a remedy.  They are committed to adhering to the highest winemaking standards in order to continue to make clean wines that everyone can enjoy.