Acid & so2

[Ryan Hubble]

Noob here.
Got 100L of argentia ridge shiraz from costco brewing up and headed for an aging barrel (skipping fining, stabilizing, degassing). Once it ferments down below 1 I'm adding the potassium metabisulphite pack that comes with the kits and racking into the barrel.

I'm thinking of adding a quarter teaspoon per week of potassium metabisulphite while in the barrel (100L), and was wondering is this a good amount and also should I add some acid? I prefer puckery over moldy.

 

[Johnd]

Noob here.
Got 100L of argentia ridge shiraz from costco brewing up and headed for an aging barrel (skipping fining, stabilizing, degassing). Once it ferments down below 1 I'm adding the potassium metabisulphite pack that comes with the kits and racking into the barrel.

I'm thinking of adding a quarter teaspoon per week of potassium metabisulphite while in the barrel (100L), and was wondering is this a good amount and also should I add some acid? I prefer puckery over moldy.

Just sharing my opinion regarding barrel loading, consider letting the wine go dry and do some degassing in carboys before loading, it’ll save you a load of trouble having to rack out of the barrel to clean it and reload. You’ll end up with lots of sludge in the bottom if the wine hasn’t cleared / settled a little bit.

Regarding sulfite, your best bet is to test and adjust monthly when you top up. If you top up well, the sulfite levels are not so critical. Find the pH of your wine so you know what levels you should be at when adjusting.

Pesonally, I wouldn’t mess with the acid levels, kits come properly adjusted.

 

[jsbeckton]

I would wait until it’s done fermenting before adding the kmeta. Wines can go below 1 Brix so if you add it there it might not be finished. I’d put the airlock on at 1 Brix and then wait until the gravity doesn’t change for ~5 days before adding kmeta.

I’d also not advise adding kmeta to the barrel every week because this has you opening it too much. I’d aim for every 2-3 weeks or so. If you don’t have means to measure SO2 I’d also err on the side of not adding quite enough kmeta than adding too much.

 

[Ryan Hubble]

I was hoping any gas stuck in the wine would help preserve it?

I plan to top up the barrel weekly

How long should it sit in the carboy once fermentation is complete before racking into barrel?

You say degas in carboy.... do you mean stir it up to let gas out and then let it sit afterwards? Or do I need to use the additives?

 

[jsbeckton]

I was hoping any gas stuck in the wine would help preserve it?

I plan to top up the barrel weekly

How long should it sit in the carboy once fermentation is complete before racking into barrel?

You say degas in carboy.... do you mean stir it up to let gas out and then let it sit afterwards? Or do I need to use the additives?

There are no additives for degassing. You have 3 basic options

1. Stir
2. Apply vacuum
3. Time

People here typically prefer 2-3 or some combination of those. The only reason to stir is if you are trying to follow the kit instruction timeline which most people feel leads to drinking the wine too young and exposes the wine to too much O2.

If you are already planning on opening the barrel every week I’d avoid any other unnecessary O2 exposure if you can.

 

[salcoco]

wait until wine clears before barreling. add sulphite once racked off of fine sediment then barrel. add 1/4 tsp about every two months. as far as acid taste the wine once clear see if it needs acid if so do bench trials. check again once out of the barrel. then add acid to main batch.

 

[Johnd]

wait until wine clears before barreling. add sulphite once racked off of fine sediment then barrel. add 1/4 tsp about every two months. as far as acid taste the wine once clear see if it needs acid if so do bench trials. check again once out of the barrel. then add acid to main batch.

@salcoco , you probably missed it, but his barrel is 100L, or roughly 25 gallons. 1/4 tsp every two months probably won't cut the mustard. In my 30 gallon barrel, I was adding around 1/2 tsp every 6 - 8 weeks to keep the levels up....

 

[salcoco]

my bad dosage should be a 1/4 tsp for every five gallons in this case 1 1/4 tsp every three months.