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On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 14:08:39 -0900, wrote:

>On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 11:04:51 -0500, "David" > wrote:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I'm new to wine making and I was wondering if folks could recommend a
>>sanitization product. I mainly need to keep fermentation vessels, a siphon,
>>and bottles free from spoiling microorganisms. I am making mostly small
>>batches a gallon or so at a time, using pasteurized juice (so I don't need
>>to kill off microbes in the must).
>>
>>There are a number of products on the market and I'm not sure which to use.
>>Some of them advertise as "no rinse". Does that mean some other products
>>require a rinse? In that case what do you rinse with? Tap water? If that
>>were true why bother sanitizing at all?
>>
>>Also I bought some stoppers with holes for airlocks but the stoppers smell
>>strongly of rubber and I don't want that smell to go into the wine. Could
>>that happen? Did I buy the wrong thing?
>>
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>David
>>
>>
>
>WOW! This seems to be a conroversial subject, but I'll go out on a
>limb:
>
>IMHO potasium (or sodium) metabisulphite is a poor surface sanitizer.
>It works great in must due to the acidity. Also, I use the same
>equipment for brewing beer and it is inadvisable to get potasium (or
>sodium) metabisulphite anywhere near beer.
>
>Generally speaking, if everything is cleaned thoroughly then
>sanitizing is probably not truly necessary for winemaking. However,
>to be on the safe side sanitizing is not bad insurance.
>
>Like many others, I like Star-San. It is effective and safe for just
>about all materials. I also like iodophor for pretty much the same
>reasons, though it requires a longer period of contact and it can
>discolor plastic. I do use chlorine because it is so inexpensive.
>But chlorine will pit stainless steel, so I only use it on glass and
>plastic. Even at recommended dilutions, I do not consider any of the
>above to be "no-rinse" -- especially for beer. I rinse with either
>boiled water or a solution of "One-Step".
>
>Generally I use chlorine for everything but stainless, I use iodophor
>for stainless, and I rinse with One-Step. I came up with these
>procedures after consulting a microbiologist and these procedures have
>served me well.
>
>Truitt Smith

Like you I make both beer and wine and I basically use the same
procedures for both. I keep two buckets of solution ready for use.
One is Iodophor and the other is PDW (Profesional Brewers Wash.
I belive that this is chlorine based).
When I have enough emptied bottles they go into the PDW and then get
rinsed off with tap water, allowed to dry and stored for future use.
This removes labels from wine bottles and deposits from beer bottles.
When ready to bottle, I go through the same procedure, excepting using
Iodophor in placec ofPBW).
Both solutions are also used where relevant on all the other
equipment. On primary fermenters mechanical means ( brushes ) are also
necessary.
As a rinsing agent, tap water from a a municipal supply will remove
the chlorine and iodine down to negligable levels and is safe. It will
not however sanitize,
I like PBW as it is stable. When it gets dirty I have other uses.
Before I throw it out, I use it to clean bird feeders or other
similar items .
Cheers BoB G.