You’re Reading Food Labels… But Are You Reading Wine Labels?

You’re watching your ingredients. You’re scanning food labels. You’ve swapped your oils, creamers, breads… but when it comes to wine, are you still sipping blindly?

Here’s the truth: Just like processed foods, conventional wine can contain dozens of unlabeled additives—from sulfites and pesticides to Mega Purple dye, artificial yeast, and even glyphosate (yep, the same toxin sprayed on oats and wheat).

Top 5 Toxic Wines to Avoid

1. Barefoot Wine (E. & J. Gallo)

• Why to avoid: Mass-produced, full of additives, high sulfite levels

• ❌ May contain added sugar, coloring agents, artificial flavoring

• 🧪 No organic grapes or clean certification

• 😖 Commonly linked to headaches & hangovers

2. Yellow Tail

• Why to avoid: Industrial Australian wine with synthetic processing

• ❌ Known to contain Mega Purple dye, added sugar, and flavorings

• 🌾 Grown with chemical fertilizers & pesticides

• 💀 One of the most additive-heavy cheap wines

3. Cupcake Vineyards

• Why to avoid: Made for mass appeal, not purity

• ❌ Frequently uses non-disclosed additives to enhance flavor

• 🧁 May contain residual sugars and color stabilizers

• 🚫 Not organic, not biodynamic, and lacks transparency

4. Apothic Wines (Apothic Red, Apothic Crush, etc.)

• Why to avoid: Artificially sweet, heavily manipulated

• 💥 Contains Mega Purple for color and a syrupy texture

• ❌ Very high in residual sugar

• 🧠 Known to cause brain fog and inflammation in sensitive people

5. Menage à Trois

• Why to avoid: Popular red blends full of sugar and sulfites

• ❌ Often uses fining agents (animal by-products), flavoring, and stabilizers

• 🩸 High histamine levels + pesticide residue from conventional grapes

• ⚠️ Not suitable for anyone avoiding chemicals or additives

So… How Do You Actually Drink Clean Wine?

Here’s the truth: most wines in the U.S. (especially grocery store wines) are made with:

• Added sugar and flavoring agents

• Finishing chemicals to alter color, aroma, or “mouthfeel”

• Sprayed grapes with glyphosate and synthetic pesticides

• Lab-grown yeast to speed up fermentation

• Extra sulfites that can cause headaches, bloating, or fatigue

That’s why so many people say, “I love wine but I can’t drink it anymore.”

Clean wine, on the other hand, is a whole different experience. And in Napa + Sonoma, we found winemakers who are doing things right—farming with intention, letting the grapes speak, and keeping their wines as close to nature as possible.