h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Taff,

Good. Hope it's the same with you

Jabs

yup. gerbsäure, the mother of all s

or so i'm told

mind you, tannin also lends a certain quality to the wine's taste, so if you limit yourself to - say - a few bottles per day things should be okay

I have yet to get a from

you just never had enough

seriously though, you are (or at least may be) on to something. tannin and alcohol (and/or other substances) may cause while tannin in itself does not

just to be on the safe side i will stop drinking from now on

just shows how much I knowI thought tannin was on sunbeds

Silly sod, prof.

Well, I suppose you might find anything on one of those sun beds. (Groans )

Seriously, tannin is what makes tea bitter and brown. It exists in almost all leaves -- which is why water turns brown if lots of leaves stand in it -- and also in wine. Tannins are one reason some wines need to age before drinking. Lots of tannins mean a wine that will mature with more character. Drink it too soon, and it skins your mouth.

But when it comes to headaches, I have several friends who are allergic to the sulfites that you find in almost all wines, and get awful headaches if they drink the wrong ones. There are a few wines with little or no sulfites, so it seems this might be one.

again: i don't know nothing

but isn't it true that sulfites have to be added by EU-law to preserve the wine?

i was once told that if you drink greek wine in greece you will not necessarily get any sulfites, but if you drink exported greek wine at home you can't avoid it

makes a little sense, i guess

but then it also makes sense to stick to

Oh, EU laws.