Bottling Question - more chemicals?

[scubaman2151]

Hey guys,


I have (3) 6 gal carboys I will be bottling. One of each, Chianti, Cab Franc, and Pinot Noir. Here is the timeline for these wines:


Racked into carboy on 11/29/08
Added 1/4tspk-meta and 1/2tsp sorbate on 1/6/09
racked and added 1/4tsp k-meta 8/4/09
added 1/4tsp k-meta on 1/4/10


I will be bottling them all next week, should I add any more k-meta or sorbate?These were all made from fresh juice, not from a kit, and will potentially stay in the bottle for another year or more.


Scuba

 

[grapeman]

Without testing you can't say for sure, but they should be good to bottle. The sorbate seems low. Did you follow the directions on the bottle? Use whatever amount they say per batch and you only add that once. K-meta should be good to go.

 

[ibglowin]

Is the K-Meta addition a little on the low side?

I thought you were supposed to add 1/4 tsp every 3 months?

 

[Wade E]

The sorbate is low but if you are not sweetening these wines then it pretty much isnt needed anyway. I would personally test the s02 on these cause the addition is a little low Im also thinking for being so much time. Nice going on the patience there Scuba and glad to see you here again.

 

[Bert]

It would be best to check the levels of the free SO2 in each of the wines....the different PH levels in each wine could make a difference in how much K-meta is needed....good luck Scuba, that will be a nice stock of wine...

 

[grapeman]

I was thinking that not quite enough k-meta was being added, but since he just added a full doe a bit over a motn ago, I feel it is adequate. He likes to keep the levels fairly low and I don't blame him. Like I said, a test is best.

 

[scubaman2151]

Glad to see you all again as well! Small problem, I don't have anything to test these with so we are just going to have to make an educated guess.

 

[scubaman2151]

Ok, well I went to bottle these three wines back in March and discovered my bottle supply accidentally got movedso Ihad to push back the bottling until tomorrow. So, without further procrastination, I will be bottling all 3 tomorrow so that they may grace my wine rack shelves. Now if you look at the timeline, you'll note that these are about a year and a half old, once in the bottle and stored, how much longer do you think they will be good for? Sadly, I do not have the best storage conditions, but the temps tend to stay in the lower to mid 60's.


Scuba

 

[PeterZ]

Your storage conditions are better than mine - as is your patience! I would say that they would be good for several years, but I would add 1/4 tsp of k-meta to each before bottling.

 

[scubaman2151]

I added the 1/4 tsp k-meta so we are good there. You think these would actually hold up for several more years? I didn't think they were of such quality to warrent 3+ years of aging.

 

[Wade E]

I just want to make sure we are talking about recently here, When was the last time you added k-meta? As far as shelving time it would really help to know what kits these are as higher quality kits will last much longer then the 7 liter kits. The more tannins there are the longer it will last.

 

[scubaman2151]

I added the final dosage of kmeta last night. These are all made from fresh juice, no kits this time!

 

[PeterZ]

What grapes were involved? Commercial wines seem to last longer than we allow ours to last because we drink them.

 

[scubaman2151]

The fresh must came sealed in 6 galwhite plastic jugs. I am not 100% sure on the name.

 

[Wade E]

I would say you should be able to get at least another 3 years out of them!

 

[scubaman2151]

Wow, wasn't expecting that at all. When would the ideal peak point be?

 

[PeterZ]

You can only determine that by sampling periodically.

 

[Wade E]

I would say its about at peak now or very very close but that doesnt mean its going south very quick. Ive had a few Mist kits that werent even upped and they were still very good after 3 1/2 years and those have pretty much no tannins and very low alc so it just goes to show that proper sulfite and ok cellar conditions ( I dont have any cooling unit) will outlast what they state in most instructions.