Many wine lovers, especially women and in India, cannot enjoy a glass of red wine because drinking a few sips of red wine gives them a rash. Particularly common in East Asians (including Indians) the condition causes people to turn flush red, suffer migraines, headaches and nausea, have heart palpitations and break out in rashes when they consume wine and other alcoholic beverages, known as alcohol flush reaction. This condition is marked by an inability to properly metabolize alcohol that can cause people to turn bright.
Yeast is used to ferment the grapes usually in a two step process- first fermentation has a certain level of malic acid which is converted to lactic acid during the second stage called malolactic fermentation. However, the resultant product may have certain chemicals that cause allergies in the human body. In the fermentation process, expensive lactic acid bacteria are added to stabilize wine, but that step creates allergy inducing chemicals.
Reportedly, it took nearly 15 years to create the new yeast and to test the results. The yeast is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as well as both Health Canada and Environment Canada. But surprisingly, it is reportedly banned in South Africa. It is already being used in wines produced in Canada and the US.
If the Canadian producers could demonstrate in the Indian market that the yeast eliminates those allergic headaches, this will not only help increase the sale of yeast as well as Canadian wine, there will also be a marked jump in wine consumption as a significant number of people who love wine but are unable to enjoy because of the allergic reaction, will switch. |