Didn’t have enough Campden tablets

[MakersOnMaverick]

Hey all!

We crushed yesterday only to find that we didn’t have enough Campden tablets for the volume we crushed and the local shop was closed by the time we realized. We did have 10 tablets, so I added that to the must.

For reference, we are growing Lemberger grapes, the pH was 3.0, and the brix was 24. We sterilized everything from the buckets to the destemmer/crusher before picking, so the only things present would be on the contaminants/yeast on the grapes.

My questions: Should I add more meta when I get it on Tuesday (picked/crushed Saturday)? If so, how much after waiting 3 days between additions? Should I just pitch the yeast tonight (Sunday) and hope for the best? Add meta again after primary?

Any help would be much appreciated! Normally we are better prepared, but our hot summer and lax testing made yesterday’s harvest a surprise, so we spaced a pretty important step.

Thanks!

 

[ChuckD]

I would pitch the yeast. If it’s rolling along on Tuesday I would just skip the additional k-meta until after primary. A strong ferment is its own preservative.

 

[winemaker81]

I agree with @ChuckD.

Side note -- if you're using that many Campden, buy powdered K-meta. It's cheaper and easier to use.