Metabisulphite needed?
 

Hi,

I'm ready to bottle a Woodbridge Cab batch and on the instructions it
mentions that if you plan to age the wine for the recommended 6 month
period you should add additional Metabisulphite to the batch before
bottling. I will age some of the bottles for far longer than 6 months
so does that mean that I need to add more Metabisulphite to the
bottles that will age longer than to the ones that will be consumed
this year?

I understand that Metabisulphite is meant to control bacteria & wild
yeast but if a bottle is sealed with a little Metabisulphite, wouldn't
it kill any foreign objects and the seal keep new ones from entering?
If so, why would I need to add more Metabisulphite than I already did
5 weeks ago before racking to the 2nd carboy? Does Metabisulphite
have any bad side-effects?

Thanks for any tips!!!

MarkW

Metabisulphite needed?
 

Na Meta has 2 purposes. First, in inhibits (not necessarily kills) some bad
organisms. Consequently it may protect your wine to some extent.
Cleanliness is better insurance in this regard.

But the main thing it does is protect against oxidation. At bottling you
need the proper level for the acidity of your wine. Having too much does
not help and may give an off taste. Some people detect it and others do
not. If you have too little your wine will probably not last as long during
aging. Many homemade wines start going down hill after 18 to 24 months
because not enough was used. With proper levels you should be able to age
for 5 to 8 years. My wines typically do not make it that far.

A small percent of the population is allergic to sulfites. My son is. He
has trouble breathing after 1 or 2 glasses of commercial wine. They err on
the high side in protecting their wine. He can drink several glasses of my
wine with no ill effects. If you, or someone you know is sensitive to
sulfites you can make wine with lower levels or with none. It just needs to
be drunk young.

Most good books on winemaking will have a section on the proper level to use
with wines of different acidity. The less acidic, the more you need.

Ray

"MarkW" > wrote in message
m...
> Hi,
>
> I'm ready to bottle a Woodbridge Cab batch and on the instructions it
> mentions that if you plan to age the wine for the recommended 6 month
> period you should add additional Metabisulphite to the batch before
> bottling. I will age some of the bottles for far longer than 6 months
> so does that mean that I need to add more Metabisulphite to the
> bottles that will age longer than to the ones that will be consumed
> this year?
>
> I understand that Metabisulphite is meant to control bacteria & wild
> yeast but if a bottle is sealed with a little Metabisulphite, wouldn't
> it kill any foreign objects and the seal keep new ones from entering?
> If so, why would I need to add more Metabisulphite than I already did
> 5 weeks ago before racking to the 2nd carboy? Does Metabisulphite
> have any bad side-effects?
>
> Thanks for any tips!!!
>
> MarkW