Racking, K-Meta, How Often?

[wineforfun]

I see conflicting information when reading different recipes so thought I would ask the more well-versed winemakers.
Some recipes I see mention to add a campden tablet in the beginning, let the wine run its course (go dry), then rack every 2-3 months until clear, then bottle. This is a pretty common string of events in the recipe book that came with my equipment kit.
Now others say to rack every 3 months and add 1/4 tsp. K-Meta when doing so (this is also what I was told when I called RJS customer service concerning a kit I am doing of theirs).
I have also read where the alcohol will keep things preserved so the additional of K-Meta in the beginning is adequate.

Little unclear on how often I should be doing this. Most of the wines I have made so far, I have bottled by the 3 month mark but I am starting to get into some that will require longer aging and racking.

Thanks for any insight. Also, if there is somewhere I should go read about this, feel free to send me there.

 

[robie]

What you really need is a setup like this thread by ibglowin. I also use it and it works really well.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f86/my-aeration-oxidation-free-so2-setup-28646/

This allows you to accurately test free SO2 levels and adjust accordingly. Anythng else is only an educated guess, based on a norm.

If you bottle when the instructions say and the wine is going to be drunk within the first 6 months after bottling, the stabilizing dose (right after fermentation) is all you need.

If not, after that, you should be testing free SO2 levels. If you don't test, that's where the 1/4 tsp every 3 months comes into play. Me? I think that is a little too much, but not so much that it will ruin the wine. If I didn't test, I'd add 1/8th tsp about every 6 to 8 weeks. I know, that's even another confusing option to consider, so which one is right? That's why you should test for free SO2.

But, like most new home wine makers, if you haven't bit the bullet for a test setup, 1/4 tsp every 3 months or 1/8th tsp every 6 to 8 weeks is not going to give your wine a sulfited taste and is most likely going to provide the protection your wine needs.

 

[GreginND]

As a general rule if I am not measuring SO2 I will use the following (mostly fruit wines):

0.4 g per gallon is ~50 ppm.

Preferment 0.4 g per gallon.

After primary rack to secondary for 1-2 months.

On next rack, add 0.4 g per gallon.

Every other racking after that and right before bottling I add 0.4 g per gallon.

I've never had a problem with this.

 

[wineforfun]

Greg,
So correct me if I am wrong. With your calculations, that would be 3/4 tsp per 6 gal.?
I ran .4g through a tsp calculator and came up with just under 1/8 tsp.
That seems high.

 

[GreginND]

Actually it is just a touch less than 1/16 of a tsp given 1 tsp is about 6.2 grams of k meta.

 

[MilesDavis]

What does that come out to in Campden tablets?

 

[beardy]

What does that come out to in Campden tablets?

1 tablet per gallon.

 

[Enologo]

Greg,
So correct me if I am wrong. With your calculations, that would be 3/4 tsp per 6 gal.?
I ran .4g through a tsp calculator and came up with just under 1/8 tsp.
That seems high.

Are we saying that meta is to be added at 1/8 tsp per gallon???

 

[GreginND]

Are we saying that meta is to be added at 1/8 tsp per gallon???

No. Less than that.

Sorry folks, I never measure by teaspoons, only by weight. A teaspoon measurement is much less precise.

For the record, a campden tablet contains 0.44 g of potassium metabisulfite and supplies 67 ppm SO2 if used 1 per gallon.
1 Camden tablet is about 1/10 of a level teaspoon.

I target about 50 ppm and add 0.4g per gallon. This is closer to 1/16 of a tsp. again, I only measure by weight.

 

[beardy]

Actually it is just a touch less than 1/16 of a tsp given 1 tsp is about 6.2 grams of k meta.

I think they came to <1/16th tsp per gallon.

 

[Enologo]

So for arguments sake let's say that 1 campden tablet (which I normally use)= 1/16 tsp of meta. How bad of a problem would one have if one were to use 1/8 tsp?? Don't ask me why.

 

[GreginND]

It's only a problem if 100ppm SO2 is too high for you.

If you get 10 different people measuring out a TSP of k-meta you will have 10 different amounts of K-meta. Why don't you use campden or simply use a gram scale to weigh it?

 

[Enologo]

I normally use tablets when I'm racking. One per gallon crushed into the carboy then I rack into the carboy everything seems to dissolve nicely no problem easy peasy. But I have a batch bulk aging in the demijohn and noticed that it's been over three maybe four months since I added some meta so rather than crush tablets and stir things up I figured I'd just measure it out and add it in and I don't know how but had that 1/8 tsp. per in my head and didn't think twice about it of course until I dumped in the last bit and that's when I started to second guess myself. I know it's probably not the end of the world but I hate it when I'm rushing and screw things up.

 

[Bartman]

This is an issue where I think the more precise winemakers among us (I won't name names) take exact measurement and reproduce-ability to an extreme that most of us are not going to match. Commercial operations and chemists may find it appealing and/or essential to know exactly how much k-meta they are adding, but I really don't care, so long as the wine does not oxidize (noticeably) nor taste/smell of sulfur. consequently, I add a dash of k-meta at racking time, without measuring, knowing its in the neighborhood of 1/16 to 1/8 tsp and leave it at that.

I just can't bring myself to agonize over this particular issue as much as some newer winemakers fear they should.

 

[GreginND]

The original post asked for input on how others do kmeta dosing and scheduling. So we responded with appropriate detail.

But if the real question is "I added 1/8 tsp, is that too much and is my wine ruined" I would say no. Don't sweat it. Even if its 100 ppm, your wine is fine. It will dissipate with time. If you can't taste the sulfite it isn't necessarily too much. If it tastes fine it is fine.

 

[Bartman]

Greg, I agree, the OP was asking whether he should be racking and sulfiting or just leaving it, based on conflicting info. I'm not saying one way is right and the other wrong, only that for most home winemakers that maintain reasonably sanitary conditions and drink their wines within 1-2 years (which I would estimate is 90% or more), obsessing over having "just" the right amount of sulfite is unnecessary. Extending that, I would say Robie's suggestion for a testing setup as described by ibglowin is fine if you want to do it (go for it, if that's your thing), but not at all *necessary* to make good/great wine that doesn't spoil. My impression of the OP (which might be wrong) was, what do I 'need' to do?