shelf life of chemicals
 

Hi all. I've had my stuff stored for almost a year now, and havent'
had the opportunity to make wine in that time (shocking, I know). As
I unpacked my wine making goodies, the pink cleansing solution looks
pretty washed out, which got me to wondering...

what would the shelf life of the various chemicals be, like potassium
sorbate, yeast nutrient, sodium metabisulphite, pectic enzyme,
bentonite and acid testing kit?

Thanks!

Julie

shelf life of chemicals
 

"Julie" > wrote in message
om...
> what would the shelf life of the various chemicals be, like potassium
> sorbate, yeast nutrient, sodium metabisulphite, pectic enzyme,
> bentonite and acid testing kit?

I've never used sorbate, so I don't know. Yeast nutrient should be OK as
long as you've kept it dry and it hasn't clumped. Throw away your sodium
metabisulfite and buy potassium metabisulfite. That'll keep OK as long as
it's sealed in an airtight container, but every time you open the container
it'll get a little shot of air and that degrades it over time. If you keep
it as a stock solution (dissolved in water) it's even more susceptible to
oxidation. Pectic enzyme loses its activity over time, but keeping it
refrigerated slows that down. Bentonite lasts forever. The chemicals in
your acid testing kit degrade over time.

Tom S

shelf life of chemicals
 

Somewhere on Jack's site he has a fairly extensive discussion of chemicals
and how quickly they degrade.

Ray

"Julie" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi all. I've had my stuff stored for almost a year now, and havent'
> had the opportunity to make wine in that time (shocking, I know). As
> I unpacked my wine making goodies, the pink cleansing solution looks
> pretty washed out, which got me to wondering...
>
> what would the shelf life of the various chemicals be, like potassium
> sorbate, yeast nutrient, sodium metabisulphite, pectic enzyme,
> bentonite and acid testing kit?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Julie

shelf life of chemicals
 

> Throw away your sodium
>metabisulfite and buy potassium metabisulfite.

Why. What is the advantage to the potassium meta?

shelf life of chemicals
 

"Insprucegrove" > wrote in message
...
> > Throw away your sodium
> >metabisulfite and buy potassium metabisulfite.
>
> Why. What is the advantage to the potassium meta?

I said that for two reasons:
(1) Whatever you have currently on hand has probably become degraded
because of poor storage - either by you or whoever you bought it from.
(2) The potassium salt contributes no sodium to your wine. Potassium is a
natural component in wine, and any excess can be chilled out when you cold
stabilize. That's not the case with sodium, which in excess can make your
wine taste - well, salty. This is a pretty fine point, but wineries do not
use sodium metabisulfite in their wines.

Tom S

shelf life of chemicals
 

As I understand it, Na Meta is not allowed in commercial wines. Good reason
for amateurs not to fool with it either when K meta is available.

Ray

"Tom S" > wrote in message
. com...
>
> "Insprucegrove" > wrote in message
> ...
> > > Throw away your sodium
> > >metabisulfite and buy potassium metabisulfite.
> >
> > Why. What is the advantage to the potassium meta?
>
> I said that for two reasons:
> (1) Whatever you have currently on hand has probably become degraded
> because of poor storage - either by you or whoever you bought it from.
> (2) The potassium salt contributes no sodium to your wine. Potassium is
a
> natural component in wine, and any excess can be chilled out when you cold
> stabilize. That's not the case with sodium, which in excess can make your
> wine taste - well, salty. This is a pretty fine point, but wineries do
not
> use sodium metabisulfite in their wines.
>
> Tom S
>
>