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View Full Version : Sulphite free Wines at Napa Rose?



madxdog
07-12-2006, 11:13 AM
Anyone have access to a wine list from Napa Rose? Mywife is wondering about the availability of sulphite free offerings.

cstephens
07-12-2006, 11:32 AM
My suggestion would be to call Napa Rose directly and ask to speak to someone there.

Opus1guy
07-12-2006, 02:50 PM
My suggestion would be to call Napa Rose directly and ask to speak to someone there.

I agree with that suggestion. Wines come and go and they'll know what currently available that might fall into this category of wines. Especially considering they are pretty rare and not many places carry them.

For more info on sulfites in wine, scroll down this page to the sulfite section.

http://www.winesofcanada.com/larchhill2.html

Basically even the so-called "sulfite-free" wines have some sulfites in them. And the amount of sulfites in wine are generally so low...you get much more from eating just about any processed food these days.

Generally, your White Wines have more sulfites as they are needed to stop the fermentation of their high sugar levels. Red Wines generally have less sulfites.

The United States is the only country that I know of that requires wine labels (even on imports) to carry the sulfite warning. Pretty much the rest of the wine growing world thinks this labeling requirement is crazy, considering the much higher levels of sulfites in just about every other food product out there that don't require warnings.

Just remember that the U.S. allows wines to be called "sulfite-free" when in fact they still contain sulfites to some degree.

BTW, the persistent myth of the "Red Wine Headache" being attributed to the sulfites in the wine has long ago been debunked (except as applied to bona fide asthmatics). Has nothing to do with the sulfites.

The old man
07-12-2006, 03:01 PM
This is part of our hypersensitive culture--not to an ingredient, but to the belief that an ingredient causes a problem. As the article that Opusguy linked to points out--sulphites are in many items that people eat everyday. I guess the question for madxdog is--does your wife avoid all of these products?

Imagine if these products carried the absurd sulphite warnings on them--the amount of people reporting systems (that weren't there before) would go way up.

So I don't get chastised by the moderator for taking this to a non-Disney related thread--As much as I like wine (with every meal) I never drink when I go to DL.

etixnostalgia
07-12-2006, 10:48 PM
I had asthma as a child and large doses of sulfites are one of the only things that will set off an attack now. It keeps me from eating large quantities of sulfite-preserved dried apricots (dried apricots happen to be one of my favorite snack foods).

I can assure you that my asthma attacks are not cultural in causation. There are sulfite-sensitive people, just as there are people with severe allergies to eggs, peanuts, and other commonly found food ingredients.

If my sulfite sensitivity were bad enough to worry about the sulfite levels in wine (fortunately a couple glasses of wine don't trigger an attack for me) I think I'd just drink something else. Even the best waiters or sommeliers would be hard pressed to give you an accurate relative comparison of sulfite content, and I'd rather not risk them being incorrect. Several years ago I was eating dinner in Paris when an American couple came into the restaurant and almost the first words out of their mouths were "do you have sulfite free wines?" The waiter looked puzzled for a moment, then put a bottle of house wine in front of them and told them pleasantly in passable English "I don't understand, but you are welcome to try our wine." They spent the rest of the meal complaining about the waiter's lack of knowledge, and I felt like telling them to just pipe down and order beer.

The old man
07-13-2006, 06:20 AM
I had asthma as a child and large doses of sulfites are one of the only things that will set off an attack now. It keeps me from eating large quantities of sulfite-preserved dried apricots (dried apricots happen to be one of my favorite snack foods).

I can assure you that my asthma attacks are not cultural in causation. There are sulfite-sensitive people, just as there are people with severe allergies to eggs, peanuts, and other commonly found food ingredients.

If my sulfite sensitivity were bad enough to worry about the sulfite levels in wine (fortunately a couple glasses of wine don't trigger an attack for me) I think I'd just drink something else. Even the best waiters or sommeliers would be hard pressed to give you an accurate relative comparison of sulfite content, and I'd rather not risk them being incorrect. Several years ago I was eating dinner in Paris when an American couple came into the restaurant and almost the first words out of their mouths were "do you have sulfite free wines?" The waiter looked puzzled for a moment, then put a bottle of house wine in front of them and told them pleasantly in passable English "I don't understand, but you are welcome to try our wine." They spent the rest of the meal complaining about the waiter's lack of knowledge, and I felt like telling them to just pipe down and order beer.
Thank you for your well reasoned response. Certainly there are people who are allergic to select things. But, as you note, with sulphite in wine, it's a very low level--especially compared to dried fruit, etc. My point was that our society has become oversensitive to being oversensitive--often looking for problems where there aren't any.

We attribute problems to things that may not be the cause of the problem--sometimes this comes from anecdotal "evidence"--ie red dye causes hyperactivity in children or chocolate causes acne, etc.

BGLeduc
07-13-2006, 06:51 AM
I second the suggestion to call and ask.

A recent DLR Podcast interviewed the manager of Napa Rose, and if I recall, every single server has to undergo a Somalier's certification program.

Brian

TribeFan
07-13-2006, 08:10 AM
Correct. There are 40 Sommeliers at the Napa Rose. 35 Level 1 and 5 Level 2 (2 are going for their Master Certificaton in November) There are more Sommeliers than any restaurant in the world.

Opus1guy
07-13-2006, 05:26 PM
I had asthma as a child and large doses of sulfites are one of the only things that will set off an attack now.

That's why I wrote above:


(except as applied to bona fide asthmatics)

:)


There are 40 Sommeliers at the Napa Rose. 35 Level 1 and 5 Level 2 (2 are going for their Master Certification in November) There are more Sommeliers than any restaurant in the world.

But that's really only because they are such a large restaurant with a large staff. There are many other restaurants in the world that have a similar 100% of waitstaff having at least Level 1 certification.

Level 1 certification in not really all that hard to achieve, BTW. In fact, many wine servers and experts that have much more experience and expertise in wines, don't even bother with getting Level 1. Level 1 is really mainly "bragging rights" that can be used in an establishment's marketing to convey the perception of wine excellence. But there are many others out there that have experience and reputations far in excess of any Level 1 or 2 that don't bother with certification.

But it is great that Napa Rose takes the time to certify most of their staff. It advertises their commitment to wine as part of the dining experience. It's really a Disney thing too and not just Napa Rose. Many servers throughout the Resort (not just Napa) have gotten certified thanks to Disney's policy on this.

There is also another level of certification called "Masters of Wine" that is very highly regarded. There are only about 250 of those world-wide.

Master Sommelier certification covers a bit broader spectrum including the entire business-side of wines, spirits, cigars and beers. And being able to "test" for this top level is by invitation only. There are about 150 of those world-wide with 76 currently being in the U.S. of A. Here in Texas where I am right now...there is only 1 Master Sommelier in the entire state, and he works for one of the major wine distributors here. Through wine contacts here, I met him several times and have been privileged to take advantage of his expertise on numerous occasions. He's quite a great guy. In fact...his name is Guy! And his last name is certainly appropriate for the beer part of his expertise...Stout. Guy Stout, Member of the Court of Master Sommeliers . :)