What are sulphates in wine and how does it affect you?

Sulfite or SO2(sulfate is a sulphuric acid salt) is a chemical added to wine grapes or the wine itself to halt fermentation. It's also a naturally occurring chemical in wine making, there is NO sulfite free wine, that would be called either vinegar or rotten grape juice. There are many low sulfite wines out there, so called organic wine, that are definitely appealing label wise but are a facade in reality. Look for "estate bottled" wines which mean the grapes were not stored in the back of the truck for hours with sulfite being added to keep them from fermenting prematurely. As far as it's affect on you is an entirely personal thing, it does not affect me or the countless billions of wine drinkers throughout history, some people seem sensitive to it but have a hard time describing the reaction, generally as headaches, but I never ask if it's after the second or third bottle that happens.