Preservatives/ingredients to watch out for

[New_Guy_Brad]

Well I have been searching for hours now trying to find a nice list but i have been unsuccessful.

My question is this- When gathering ingredients for wine making other than fresh fruit (aka frozen concentrates, bottles of cider etc) what ingredients should i watch out for, and what ones are the preservatives that i should be watching for as well.

So far my searching has only landed me to watch out for,
-Sorbate (this was obvious to me because this is what i know to use to stop further yeast.
-Sorbic acid
-Banzoic acid


I apologize if this was answered somewhere else but i have been searching for a long while now with little results.

For what its worth my current wine i'm making is a
5 gallon batch
8 cans welch's concord grape frozen concentrate
6lb sugar
8tsp acid blend
4tsp pectic enzyme
1/4 pot meta
SG- (didnt have a hydrometer first day but got reading on 2nd at ~1.090)

planning on starting a 3 gallon batch of orange and a 1gal mead and raspberry batch this week.

 

[Turock]

Well I have been searching for hours now trying to find a nice list but i have been unsuccessful.

My question is this- When gathering ingredients for wine making other than fresh fruit (aka frozen concentrates, bottles of cider etc) what ingredients should i watch out for, and what ones are the preservatives that i should be watching for as well.

So far my searching has only landed me to watch out for,
-Sorbate (this was obvious to me because this is what i know to use to stop further yeast.
-Sorbic acid
-Banzoic acid


I apologize if this was answered somewhere else but i have been searching for a long while now with little results.

For what its worth my current wine i'm making is a
5 gallon batch
8 cans welch's concord grape frozen concentrate
6lb sugar
8tsp acid blend
4tsp pectic enzyme
1/4 pot meta
SG- (didnt have a hydrometer first day but got reading on 2nd at ~1.090)

planning on starting a 3 gallon batch of orange and a 1gal mead and raspberry batch this week.

When using concentrates, always read the label looking for "sulfites." If the juice already has sulfites in it, you don't need any more meta in the primary. Over-sulfiting can hinder fermentation.

 

[Deezil]

So far my searching has only landed me to watch out for,
-Sorbate (this was obvious to me because this is what i know to use to stop further yeast.
-Sorbic acid
-Banzoic acid

Benzoate, a popular one missing on this list - might be related to banzoic acid?

 

[New_Guy_Brad]

Thanks for the responses

for
"When using concentrates, always read the label looking for "sulfites." If the juice already has sulfites in it, you don't need any more meta in the primary. Over-sulfiting can hinder fermentation."

Is there any way to test this once everything is mixed together? and if not do i add more later on like once put into the secondary or the rackings?

I read that you should add k meta every other racking anyways.

 

[Turock]

Brad---You COULD get yourself an SO2 test kit. But you can also fly by the seat of your pants on this. So2 levels depend on the type of wine your making, its PH. High PH wines need more SO2. Wines with lower PH require less.

On a wine made from concentrate, you won't need to rack but maybe one time. Don't rack obessively, as you're exposing the wine to too much O2. Don't add SO2 to the ferment. But when you rack it to the secondary, give it enough meta to get around 50 PPM of sulfite. Let it sit and clear, and when it's ready to bottle add another 1 1/2 tabs of campden per 5 gallons, along with sorbate if you're going to sweeten it.

 

[jswordy]

My take on it is, you don't need a list, just read the label and if it says anything except juice and maybe water and/or sugar (added to some "cocktail" and other blends), then you will have to deal with preservatives.

I look for two things on a label: No chemical names in the list of ingredients, and the word "Pasteurized" somewhere. Usually Pasteurized items have no further preservatives added at packaging.

Preservatives don't necessarily mean you can't get the stuff to ferment, just that it is more of an uphill battle for you and your little friends.

 

[New_Guy_Brad]

Sounds good, looks like i'm gonna be buying some test kits. After all if i'm gonna be making wine i might as well be doing it the best i can.

 

[Turock]

Yep Brad--you're right. It's good to get started out right and using "best practices." As you get more knowledge from experience with what you ferment from, you'll automatically know how much of this-or-that to add without even thinking much about it.