Bottling

[Vlabruz]

If I filtered and added 1/16 tsp of kmeta on 9/11, do you think I can just bottle it tomorrow or should I add more k meta in solution form tonight and stir it in than bottle tomorrow.
Most of the wine will be drank with in the next year or two. I may try to keep a couple for more time.
Thanks!

 

[winemaker81]

Why are you going so low on K-meta? You are not doing your wine any favors by doing so.

My experience with no-sulfite wines is they are dead within a year. IME, you're not going to reliably get 2 years without K-meta.

 

[NorCal]

Assuming a 5 gallon carboy? I’d bring it up to a full 50ppm the day before bottling.

 

[Vlabruz]

Why are you going so low on K-meta? You are not doing your wine any favors by doing so.

My experience with no-sulfite wines is they are dead within a year. IME, you're not going to reliably get 2 years without K-meta.

I added 1/4tsp on 4/11 prior to the 9/11 addition

 

[winemaker81]

I added 1/4tsp on 4/11 prior to the 9/11 addition

No offense intended, but that doesn't answer my question. Standard protocol is to add 1/4 tsp per 19-23 liters of wine, every 3 months. There is historical evidence behind this number, backed up by practical evidence on this forum.

 

[Vlabruz]

No offense intended, but that doesn't answer my question. Standard protocol is to add 1/4 tsp per 19-23 liters of wine, every 3 months. There is historical evidence behind this number, backed up by practical evidence on this forum.

I've been trying to stay conservative on kmeta. I had planned to bottle it a while ago. So I guess the answer is to add a 1/4tsp tonight. I'm always afraid to add too much kmeta. I guess I'll try to stick with the 3 month regiment.

 

[Hazelemere]

IMHO that may be too much sulphite every 3 months e.g. 3 times over 9 months. Having said that then good on you. I add 1/8 tsp non-lumpy per 25 bottle carboy which boosts free sulphite by 12 ppm. Another way to figure it out is to max total sulphite on whites at about 70 ppm and about 75 on reds. If you add 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite per 19-23 liters of wine every 3 months then you can only add this dose 3 times over 9 months if you treated your wine with bentonite mid-ferment. Otherwise 2 times over 6 months if you sulphited at ferment. We never sulphite at fermention on reds or whites without bentonite treatment mid-ferment and try to max sulphite at about 75 ppm total which works out to about 25 ppm free. Our wines are never oxidized even after 9 years and never smell of sulphite. Using sulphite properly is an art. Just so you know I invented Sulfikit as a test kit for free sulphite which I still use but no longer market. I measure free sulphite on all white wines but not on reds. I'm a professional chemist with over 56 years of expertise including sulphite measurement. Winemaker81 is obviously highly skilled. and has his own system. This is one case where we may differ or not i.e. if you dose sulphite his way twice you should be ok. Dosing more may cause problems. One thing that you need to understand about this website is that it isn't really about mix and stir i.e. paint by numbers. You have to decide who and what to follow. It is entirely your choice. Bottom line this isn't instant coffee making i.e. mix and stir. It took me 28 years to learn this craft. You can learn much much faster from all of the info here.

 

[winemaker81]

I've been trying to stay conservative on kmeta. I had planned to bottle it a while ago. So I guess the answer is to add a 1/4tsp tonight. I'm always afraid to add too much kmeta. I guess I'll try to stick with the 3 month regiment.

As with many things in winemaking, by the time you realize you have a problem with low K-meta, it's too late to fix. Once your wine is oxidized or has another related problem, it may not be fixable.

The maximum K-meta in the USA is 350 mg/liter, which is WAY above typical usage. I've overdosed wines that had both moldy grapes and H2S, and I was still well below half that figure.

 

[Vlabruz]

Great insight. I just stirred in 1/4 tsp solution and with bottle tomorrow