Long time lurker here, first question.


Last year some friends and I picked, crushed, fermented, pressed and
bottled a tonne of Shiraz Grapes (We're in Australia).

We have discovered that the bottles have the dreaded rotten egg gas in
them...

: -(

All the advice I can find is to tip them down the sink and get ready for
the 04 vintage, knowing that at least you'll have a decent thirst up by
then. Has anyone heard of any post bottle remedies for H2S??

Any ideas would be appreciated - we have nothing to loose...

Cheers


Charlie

Good news, Charlie; there's life after death.

Put some copper coins into carboy, rack back wine out of bottles into carboy
and let splash as much as possible; oxygen is your friend now! Attach
airlock. Rack after two weeks into secundary after testing smell of wine. If
necessary, let wine splash again when racking. BTW: the one who racks can
keep the coins. irlock again, of course. After another two weeks: bottle.
Let rest for a few months. And now you have a good excuse for tasting your
wine, every day. Good luck.

Ed

"Charlie" > schreef in bericht
news
> Long time lurker here, first question.
>
>
> Last year some friends and I picked, crushed, fermented, pressed and
> bottled a tonne of Shiraz Grapes (We're in Australia).
>
> We have discovered that the bottles have the dreaded rotten egg gas in
> them...
>
> : -(
>
> All the advice I can find is to tip them down the sink and get ready for
> the 04 vintage, knowing that at least you'll have a decent thirst up by
> then. Has anyone heard of any post bottle remedies for H2S??
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated - we have nothing to loose...
>
> Cheers
>
>
> Charlie

ed montforts wrote:

> Good news, Charlie; there's life after death.
>
> Put some copper coins into carboy, rack back wine out of bottles into carboy
> and let splash as much as possible; oxygen is your friend now! Attach
> airlock. Rack after two weeks into secundary after testing smell of wine. If
> necessary, let wine splash again when racking. BTW: the one who racks can
> keep the coins. irlock again, of course. After another two weeks: bottle.
> Let rest for a few months. And now you have a good excuse for tasting your
> wine, every day. Good luck.
>
> Ed

I don't think they have pennies in Australia anymore...

A reputable winemaking shop can sell you Copper sulphate solution, which
can eliminate your H2S problems if used properly... if the copper coin
trick doesn't work. You've got little to lose by trying either solution.

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

"Charlie" > wrote in message
news
> Long time lurker here, first question.
>
>
> Last year some friends and I picked, crushed, fermented, pressed and
> bottled a tonne of Shiraz Grapes (We're in Australia).
>
> We have discovered that the bottles have the dreaded rotten egg gas in
> them...
>
> : -(
>
> All the advice I can find is to tip them down the sink and get ready for
> the 04 vintage, knowing that at least you'll have a decent thirst up by
> then. Has anyone heard of any post bottle remedies for H2S??
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated - we have nothing to loose...
>
> Cheers
> Charlie

Charlie, about the only thing you can do at this point is to de-bottle the
wine. Get it back into a bulk container and then treat the lot with a 1%
copper sulfate solution. More info near the bottom of the page here
http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/chapt12.html
Good luck,
lum

Thanks for everyones input -

Ed and Charles - As luck would have it I have a large collection of 1c
and 2c coins, but I think I will go with the copper sulphate option (or
splash it around with some sulphur dioxide). This seems to be a little
more "scientific" (if not, let me know)


Lum - Your book looks like the goods, thanks for that, I have some after
dinner reading I think...



Now for the fun,as was noted, we have little to loose.

Charlie

Try the coins first. Seems less scientific, but isn't. Three or four coins
should do the trick. You can try the copper sulphate later, if you must.
Coins are better suitable because you don't need that much copper...

Problem with the coppersulphate is that you will have a hard time to
determine that you are not using too much.

Ed

"Charlie" > schreef in bericht
news
> Thanks for everyones input -
>
> Ed and Charles - As luck would have it I have a large collection of 1c
> and 2c coins, but I think I will go with the copper sulphate option (or
> splash it around with some sulphur dioxide). This seems to be a little
> more "scientific" (if not, let me know)
>
>
> Lum - Your book looks like the goods, thanks for that, I have some after
> dinner reading I think...
>
>
>
> Now for the fun,as was noted, we have little to loose.
>
> Charlie

I know a lot of home winemakers use coins or copper wire or pipe, but if
you really want to know how much copper you're putting into your wine, the
only way to do it is to conduct trials using a solution of copper sulfate of
known strength, and determining the smallest amount that will alleviate the
sulfide problem. That way when you make the addition to the entire batch
you'll only put in the amount needed, and no more.

Ed




"ed montforts" > wrote in message
...
> Try the coins first. Seems less scientific, but isn't. Three or four coins
> should do the trick. You can try the copper sulphate later, if you must.
> Coins are better suitable because you don't need that much copper...
>
> Problem with the coppersulphate is that you will have a hard time to
> determine that you are not using too much.
>
> Ed
>

"ed montforts" > wrote in message
...
> Try the coins first. Seems less scientific, but isn't. Three or four coins
> should do the trick. You can try the copper sulphate later, if you must.
> Coins are better suitable because you don't need that much copper...
>
> Problem with the coppersulphate is that you will have a hard time to
> determine that you are not using too much.
>
> Ed

Here's a second opinion.

I never use copper coins because there is no way of knowing how much copper
is going into the wine. 0.1 parts per million is a TINY amount and ten
times more copper than necessary can easily dissolve into the wine.

On the other hand, a week (1%) copper sulfate solution can be easily
measured and you know exactly how much copper has been added to the wine.

lum

--
G'day Charlie,
I would avoid using any Pacific Pesos in the brew. As I
recall it, back in 66 when the change-over was made, the mint was advising
against any kitchen uses (coins in the Xmas pudding etc) of the new coins as
they had fiddled with the alloys used and could have unintended results in
taste and toxicity.

China
Wingham
NSW

> > "Charlie" > wrot
> > Long time lurker here, first question.
> >
> > We have discovered that the bottles have the dreaded rotten egg gas in
> > them...
> >


Lum Wrote:
> Charlie, about the only thing you can do at this point is to de-bottle the
> wine. Get it back into a bulk container and then treat the lot with a 1%
> copper sulfate solution. More info near the bottom of the page here
> http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/chapt12.html
> Good luck,
> lum


Lum ( and others that offered suggestions ) - thanks

I'm thinking the next problem will be size of the container to use. I
have about 70 botles of the pongy wine, ie about 55l. If I use the 200l
container I will have too much head room and oxygen, so I was thinking
of doing the fix in 2 batches using a 25l container I have - it's a beer
brewing kit with an airlock.

This of course means that I will be adding miniscule amounts of copper
sulphate with the resultant risks of getting too much copper in the
final blend, but I read this from your book:

"Home winemakers remove hydrogen sulfide from wine when fermentation is
complete by adding about 50 milligrams per liter of sulfur dioxide. The
wine is then racked with a great deal of splashing and bubbling"

In you opinion ( or anybody elses) would this be a method work - I would
add 2500 mg of SO2 to a cup of water and then pour (and splash it about
a bi) 35 bottles into the container. Let it settle for a few days,
then re-bottle after it has settled.

Or should I just get a really small dose of Copper sulphate??

And a really stupid question - the only way I will know if the H2S is
gone is by sniffing and slurping - right? there's no fancy tests
available????

Once again, any help would be appreciated.

Charlie


PS Getting everybody together again to re-do the process will be tricky,
so I can't use our 200l (or 500l) containers

"Charlie" > wrote in message
news
> Lum ( and others that offered suggestions ) - thanks
>
> I'm thinking the next problem will be size of the container to use. I
> have about 70 botles of the pongy wine, ie about 55l. If I use the 200l
> container I will have too much head room and oxygen, so I was thinking
> of doing the fix in 2 batches using a 25l container I have - it's a beer
> brewing kit with an airlock.
>
> This of course means that I will be adding miniscule amounts of copper
> sulphate with the resultant risks of getting too much copper in the
> final blend, but I read this from your book:
>
> "Home winemakers remove hydrogen sulfide from wine when fermentation is
> complete by adding about 50 milligrams per liter of sulfur dioxide. The
> wine is then racked with a great deal of splashing and bubbling"
>
> In you opinion ( or anybody elses) would this be a method work - I would
> add 2500 mg of SO2 to a cup of water and then pour (and splash it about
> a bi) 35 bottles into the container. Let it settle for a few days,
> then re-bottle after it has settled.
>
> Or should I just get a really small dose of Copper sulphate??
>
> And a really stupid question - the only way I will know if the H2S is
> gone is by sniffing and slurping - right? there's no fancy tests
> available????
>
> Once again, any help would be appreciated.
>
> Charlie
>
>
> PS Getting everybody together again to re-do the process will be tricky,
> so I can't use our 200l (or 500l) containers.

Charlie,

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in wine can be converted into mercaptan. Then,
mercaptan can be oxidized into disulfide. Disulfide smells worse than H2S,
and it is much more difficult to remove from wine.

Removing hydrogen sulfide by splashing the wine works pretty well IF only
small amounts of H2S are present, but aeration can be dangerous if a wine
really stinks from large amounts of H2S. Adding a small amount (1/4
teaspoon) of 1% copper sulfate solution is an easier and safer way of
removing the H2S stench. However, many home winemakers do use the splashing
method, and it is successful most of the time.

lum

"Charlie" > wrote...

> > Lum ( and others that offered suggestions ) - thanks
> >

> > In you opinion ( or anybody elses) would this be a method work - I would
> > add 2500 mg of SO2 to a cup of water and then pour (and splash it about
> > a bi) 35 bottles into the container. Let it settle for a few days,
> > then re-bottle after it has settled.
> >
> > Or should I just get a really small dose of Copper sulphate??
> >
> > And a really stupid question - the only way I will know if the H2S is
> > gone is by sniffing and slurping - right? there's no fancy tests
> > available????
> >
> > Once again, any help would be appreciated.
> >
> > Charlie
> >


"Lum" > wrote:

> Charlie,
>
> Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in wine can be converted into mercaptan. Then,
> mercaptan can be oxidized into disulfide. Disulfide smells worse than H2S,
> and it is much more difficult to remove from wine.
>
> Removing hydrogen sulfide by splashing the wine works pretty well IF only
> small amounts of H2S are present, but aeration can be dangerous if a wine
> really stinks from large amounts of H2S. Adding a small amount (1/4
> teaspoon) of 1% copper sulfate solution is an easier and safer way of
> removing the H2S stench. However, many home winemakers do use the splashing
> method, and it is successful most of the time.
>
> lum
>
>


Lum

Thanks again. your time answering all my questions has ben appreciated.
I will get some copper sulphate and give it a run

I'll let the group know the outcome

Cheers

Charlie