campden tablets?

[kendo]

ok im in secondary fermenting stage, im just racking to another better bottle every couple months until bottling, can i add 6 campden tablets to say 6 gallons of wine before i bottle it? ..this zin fermented on its own wild yeast..smells and taste good already ..just wondering if the campden tablets will help preserve my wine or will it give it a off taste...

 

[Affe]

just wondering if the campden tablets will help preserve my wine or will it give it a off taste

Campden tablets are specifically for preserving wine. From what I've gathered, you can add 1 tablet / gallon during each rack to help preserve the wine from the oxygen it comes in contact with.

Though I must admit -- if I'm racking something for a fourth or fifth time, I'd be hesitant to be adding a full 6 tablets each time, and might cut that amount down.

But if you haven't added any tablets since you started the initial fermentation, you would be wise to add them to not only preserve the wine but to also stabilize it and prevent further fermentation.

If I'm wrong, someone please correct me

 

[robie]

ok im in secondary fermenting stage, im just racking to another better bottle every couple months until bottling, can i add 6 campden tablets to say 6 gallons of wine before i bottle it? ..this zin fermented on its own wild yeast..smells and taste good already ..just wondering if the campden tablets will help preserve my wine or will it give it a off taste...

Don't know if this is a kit or wine from fresh grapes or what your instructions say. I'll just go with 6 gallons of Zin.

You don't necessarily have to rack every couple of months. After aging for awhile, the sediment build up won't be that much, that often.

You should add your campden (Kmeta) per your instructions after all fermentations are done. After clearing, if you are going to bottle right away and not drink for over 6 months, you can add whatever quantity of campden tablets equates to 1/4 tsp of Kmeta powder; then bottle. If you are going to bulk age, about every 2 to 3 months, add 1/8 tsp of Kmeta powder or whatever quantity of campden tablet(s) equates to that amount. Just a guess but I would say 1 campden tablet equates to between 1/8 and 1/4 tsp of Kmeta. I'm sure someone on here will know for sure and let us know.

Better still, I know it is not always possible, but it is best if you test for free SO2 level in your wine, so you can add exactly the amount needed.

Good luck on your wine making.

 

[AKsarben]

You are right Affe. If you add too much SO2 it can become bound as total SO2 and pretty soon the wine will have enough that the "Free" will start to volatilize a bit and you can also detect too much with both taste and smell.

Also, keep in mind, that SO2 amount is determined by the pH of the juice/wine. A low pH needs less for antiseptic qualities than does a high pH wine, such as some reds fermented on the skins. pH of 3.60 and above will require a pH roughly of about 60 ppm free, while that of say a wine of pH of 3.10 may only require SO2 in the teens. The wine's pH has a huge affect on the SO2 and so keep that in mind.

Testing for free SO2 is done at out lab (by me) using 40ml of wine 10ml of 25% Phosphoric acid and then that is bubbled into a receptacle with X amount of 1% Hydrogen Peroxide and 7 drops of an indicator, then after 10 minutes the flask is titrated with 0.025N Sodium Hydroxide to a blue-green hue. Then the formula begins. eg 4.0 ml of titrant - background SO2 in the air, (most times around 0.30 to 0.35ppm) x 320 then divide by 40 for free SO2 4- 0.3 = 3.70 X 320= 1184 / 40 = 29.6 ppm Free SO2. Of course having a lab with the right stuff helps a lot.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

What did he say? Wow, I didn't know wine making was that technical. Man, I have a lot to learn! I'm going to keep it simple for the time being, by doing the simple steps of make, make, make and drink, drink, and drink before it has time to go bad.

 

[robie]

Also, keep in mind, that SO2 amount is determined by the pH of the juice/wine. A low pH needs less for antiseptic qualities than does a high pH wine, such as some reds fermented on the skins. pH of 3.60 and above will require a pH roughly of about 60 ppm free, while that of say a wine of pH of 3.10 may only require SO2 in the teens. The wine's pH has a huge affect on the SO2 and so keep that in mind.

Hey Vern, appreciate your input.

A similar free-SO2 kit, but in a simpler, cheaper form is available from morewines. It works OK for us homies.

So, based on, for example, the PH being too high - would you go ahead and add the higher initial SO2 level accordingly or would you first adjust the PH to the level you want for fermenting, then add a more typical SO2?

Or does this just apply to post fermentation Kmeta addition?

I think most of the time we add the initial SO2 level first, then adjust, but maybe that is not right, when the PH is off normal.

 

[AKsarben]

If you have a high pH wine, say in 3.80 to 3.90 you may want to acidulate (add tartaric acid) to the wine first just a bit to lower the pH and raise the acid. Do this before adding Campden tables, or K-metabisulfite as you can over shoot your initial SO2 a bit if you add first and adjust later. It's a 2 way street. If you over sulfite your juice initially in a lower pH juice it will not only disrupt wild yeast propagation, stun it, but it can also stun and lenghten the lag phase of the start of fermentation. IOW it can increase the time that your yeast begins to work and put out protective CO2 over the juice. I'd rather under sulfite at the beginning and get a strong fermentation going and add some later on at the end of fermentation than risk making it too harsh from the start. Also, too much SO2 at the beginning will interfere with some of the enzymatic reaction of fermentation and result in more Glycerol production than normal, lowering the end alcohol (EtOH) of the wine. This was used to an advantage in fermentation around WWII to produce glycerine for the making of Nitroglycerin and subsequently dynamite, and other explosives.

One of the best pieces of equipment in winemaking is, besides the hydrometer, the pH meter. It can help to determine where you are at. Higher pH wines are more dull in red color and not as bright as say something around 3.4 - 3.6 pH. Another thing is that most spoliage organism prefer a higher pH than 3.1 - 3.5 and it gives them better chance to become estabilshed.

 

[AKsarben]

Also just wanted to add we found a mistake in making Pinot Noir wine in fermenting the wine at the higer pH and trying to bring down the pH and up the acid later on toward the end of fermentation. What we ended up with was wine with color that was not what we wanted, nor a pH in the range that worked well. Reason: Lower pH juice initially allowed a better extration of color, but more importantly, STABILIZED the color better and preserved the color of the wine better than trying to do it later on. Now we acidulate right off the start, even before adding yeast, and add SO2 with the premise that the juice/must will be around 3.3 at least that low to begin with.

 

[robie]

Good info. Thanks, Vern.

I have always heard that it is best to get acid/PH in balance before starting fermentation; you just gave us a good example of why that should be done.

 

[AKsarben]

Also, using Tartaric Acid give us a bit of flexibility. If we overshoot the acid, we can remove a lot of it during cold stailization, naturlly in the form of cream of tartar crystals.