SO2 Testing - Pre/Post Rack

[RylanJacobs]

I racked my Chardonnay off the lees about 2 weeks ago. It is currently in a 5-gallon carboy, and that is the only one I have.

I racked the wine off the lees into a 6-gallon carboy. Cleaned and sanitized the 5-gallon carboy, and then racked from the 6-gallon carboy back into the 5-gallon carboy. Topped it up and fitted with an airlock.

I added 50ppm SO2 when racking into the 6-gallon carboy. I do not prime with inert gas, and I have no way of really limiting o2 exposure. As such, I added another 50ppm when racking back into the 5-gallon carboy.

Today, I did an SO2 Titret that showed 100 ppm SO2. Assuming a starting point of 0, this indicates that there was no decrease in SO2 during both rackings. These were not splash-racks. I held the siphon down low and was very careful to avoid bubbles.

Needless to say I will not be adding SO2 for quite some time! Thank goodness for Titrets!!!

P.S - The SO2 is not detectable at all.


What have others experienced with SO2 levels around racking??

 

[BarrelMonkey]

A learning experience for sure! Racking as you describe (including rack-and-return) will maybe cost you a few ppm SO2 but will not wipe it out. In future I would recommend testing after your racking operation and adjusting SO2 accordingly.

 

[RylanJacobs]

A learning experience for sure! Racking as you describe (including rack-and-return) will maybe cost you a few ppm SO2 but will not wipe it out. In future I would recommend testing after your racking operation and adjusting SO2 accordingly.

I definitely will test at the end of racking and adjust accordingly. A great learning experience. Also, nice to know that SO2 levels can reach 100ppm and not be detectable. Wine literature indicates this is true up to about 150ppm, but I have never tasted a wine even close to that.