Over the Christmas period even cautious wine drinkers can wake up with the feeling that they have overdone it. But a new invention could make it easy to avoid wine hangovers – and improve the taste of the drink in the process.

The culprit that causes many wine headaches are sulphites – sulphur dioxide added to the bottle to kill off unwanted microbes and yeasts and limit oxidation. Most wines have between 120 and 200 sulphur parts per million, with whites and rosés having the most sulphites added as they are more prone to oxidation.

Now a South African company has developed a machine that reduces greatly the volume of sulphites by using ultraviolet rays to do the job. The technology, called Surepure, is being tested by a number of the country’s wine estates including Steenberg, Alluvia Stellar Organics, Clarius, Bouchard Finlayson and L’Ormarins, as well as winemakers in California, Chile, New Zealand and Australia.

For Neil Patterson, cellar master at L’Ormarins, near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape winelands, a wine that is almost free of sulphites cannot come too soon: he has a sulphur intolerance, causing blotchiness around his eyes, and was looking for a solution before hearing about Surepure.

“I’m lucky that I work for someone who is keen to embrace new technology,” Mr Patterson, 28, told The Times on a visit to his estate. “The use of sulphites in wine is a problem. It does control microbacterial activity and prevents oxidation but it also kills nonharmful elements which can add to the taste and flavour of a wine.”

Guy Kebble, CEO of Surepure, said: “We think this will change the way wine is made. It is a conservative industry but people’s attitudes to sulphites and demands for a healthier diet and lifestyle are making winemakers look at alternatives.”

The new machine, roughly the size of two fridge-freezers, pipes wine in and out through two pipes. As the liquid passes through, it is exposed to UV-ray lamps; the Surepure can process 4,000 litres in an hour and the process can be repeated as many times as the winemaker wants. “Using this technology we can cut down the need for sulphites and improve the quality of our wine,” said Mr Patterson, who has been cellar master for six years at the 750-hectare (1,850acre) estate, which is owned by one of South Africa’s richest men, Johann Rupert.

This year L’Ormarins produced 4,000 litres of chardonnay, half using the Surepure technique and the other half via traditional measures. Mr Patterson was so impressed that the estate will now produce a sulphur-free wine for sale next year, although he would not say what variety.

“We’ve had people down here to taste – winemakers, critics – and they’ve been impressed. The process adds to the quality of the wine because it doesn’t kill off the flavours and tastes. You don’t get that sulphury taste, just a more natural, full flavour.”

A brief taste test enabled The Times to nod wisely in agreement, and confirm that the machine did nothing to impair the flavour – the hangover test was passed with flying colours. “It gives us a more competitive edge,” Mr Patterson said. “We’ll be the first to use this commercially next year when customers will be able to buy our sulphur-free wine.”

Mr Kebble said that his technology, which had taken nine years to perfect, could be used for fruit juice and beer as an alternative to pasteurisation.“I can drink a couple of glasses of wine and get a splitting headache,” he said. “I think our system will reduce that.”

Oh, that aching head

— Hangovers are caused by a combination of dehydration, toxification (from compounds to give drinks their taste and appearance) and other factors such as exposure to smoke or consumption of high-sugar drinks

— “Surefire” hangover cures listed on the web include Vegemite on toast, cabbage, hair of the dog, kidney dialysis, rubbing the armpits with a lemon or a full English breakfast

— There is some rationale behind a hair of the dog. Hangovers are caused by chemicals called congeners. One of these is methanol, which gets metabolised to form formaldehyde. A drink such as vodka blocks that metabolism

— As well as the throbbing head, the dry mouth and the flashbacks suffered when recalling what you did the night before, hangovers cost the country £2 billion a year in lost wages

Sources: British Medical Journal, Times archives

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