Do I have a Hydrogen Sulphite problem?

[Renders]

Hi Guys,

I am new to winemaking and I really hope you can help me. I started on a ''Wine Expert Zinfandel Eclipse'' 10 days ago and after I racked the wine from my primary fermenter (closed bucket with airlock) to my secondary fermenter (PET carboy with airlock 6 gallons) everything seemed fine, but on day 8 I smelled a slight rotten egg smell.

My approach:
I've started with cleaning and sanitizing all materials. Then the instructions said to start with bentonite, add the grape juice, add the must and sprinkle the yeast (EC1118) on top. 3 times a day I've been punching down the cap, measuring the temp. and the gravity. I've have added a graph which shows the average gravity and temp. per day and the bubble frequency.
This all went fine! The yeast did its job and there were no funky smells.

The instructions said to press and discard the must and rack the wine after 7 days into the secondary fermenter, so I did. The day after when I smelled in the carboy I got a slight rotten egg smell through the fruity wine and alcoholic smell. To solve this I splash racked the wine twice that day and there were no funky smells when I smelled the wine. In the evening I smelled in the carboy again and the slight rotten egg smell had returned.

It is very hard for me to determine if the intensity of the smell will affect the wine later on or if it will gradually disappear since I am new to winemaking. The instructions say I have to rack the wine on day 17 and add potassium metabisulphite, sorbate and chitosan before I degas the wine.

What should I do:

• Let it be because it will disappear on its own?
• Splash rack it again? (how often can I do that at this stage before the wine oxidizes?)
• Rack it through a copper tube? (I'm afraid what it will do to the taste)

I really want my first ever batch to succeed and I am planning on making a lot more wine.

Thanks in advance and I really appreciate your input!

Kind regards,

A Dutch guy living in cold Denmark

 

[sour_grapes]

I am sure it will be fine. I would splash rack it again. You won't oxidize it by doing that. Right now, your wine is full of CO2 and this will help carry the excess O2 away. I think you could safely splash rack 5 times or more before harming your wine with O2.

Don't use a copper tube. First of all, your case sounds fairly mild, and doesn't need copper. Second, using metallic copper can introduce an unknown and possibly large dose of copper. There is a product called "Reduless" that can introduce a controlled quantity.

 

[Renders]

I am sure it will be fine. I would splash rack it again. You won't oxidize it by doing that. Right now, your wine is full of CO2 and this will help carry the excess O2 away. I think you could safely splash rack 5 times or more before harming your wine with O2.

Don't use a copper tube. First of all, your case sounds fairly mild, and doesn't need copper. Second, using metallic copper can introduce an unknown and possibly large dose of copper. There is a product called "Reduless" that can introduce a controlled quantity.

Thank you so much for the comforting reply. It is indeed a mild smell so I will splash rack it again. Should I notice the smell disappear right away during racking or does it take a few hours for the smell to disappear?

Thanks!

 

[Doug’s wines]

Sometimes the co2 trapped in the wine will pick up offending flavors as the yeast struggles to finish. Ec1118 generally seems to smell a little off to me although not H2S bad. I’m thinking you may be catching these off aromas and everything will smooth out once the wine is fully degassed. I’ve gone as far as to stop using 1118 because of this personally. If you are having the issue I’ve noticed, it will disappear after the splash rack, but return once the gas settles until you get the wine fully degassed. Even then I’ve noticed it in the bottle if I bottle early (as per kit instructions). If you find that, decant the wine and let it sit for 5-10 min before serving and it disappears.

 

[Doug’s wines]

One more note, your wine looks finished, but I wouldn’t splash rack or try anything else we’ve recommended until it is finished fermenting. .999 is essentially dry, but every sg measure is different and there’s no indication of temp correction. Wait for the sg to not change at all for 3 days then access the situation and see what to do.

Here’s a simplified article on some of the smells including what’s normal and what is “off”:

http://blog.eckraus.com/bad-odor-during-fermentation-in-wine

 

[Renders]

One more note, your wine looks finished, but I wouldn’t splash rack or try anything else we’ve recommended until it is finished fermenting. .999 is essentially dry, but every sg measure is different and there’s no indication of temp correction. Wait for the sg to not change at all for 3 days then access the situation and see what to do.

Here’s a simplified article on some of the smells including what’s normal and what is “off”:

http://blog.eckraus.com/bad-odor-during-fermentation-in-wine

Thank you for the advice! I will measure SG every day from now on and splash rack once the SG doesn't change for 3 days. I'll keep you updated and thanks again!

 

[NorCal]

You would think using a copper tube would be innocent enough, heck they use it for plumbing in my house. However the low pH of wine will cause the copper to leach out into the wine wirh an uncontrolled amount and you risk having copper that does not precipitate out, left in the wine.

Plan on 5 different splash rack sessions. It may take less, but it will blow off with some good rackings, if it is mild.