Hi guys i added the 5G packet of sulphite during clearing. After clearing i racked off and added an additional 1/4 tsp since they said to do so if aging for longer than 3 months. Its about 6 weeks in and i think it spent enough time on oak...i also need to free up the carboy so thinking to filter and bottle. Should i add another 1/4tsp after filtering and prior to bottling? Or should i just bottle? I plan on aging the wine in the bottle and drinking it slow.
Is this into a 5 gallon carboy? Kit? 5 grams into 5 gallons would be around 150 ppm. 1/4 tsp into 5 gallons is around 50 ppm. Assuming this is a kit, I’m assuming your pH is around 3.5. You probably already have 4X too much . If it were mine I wouldn’t add any more.
Its a 23L kit, basically just following the kit instructions. Also keep in mind that 200 ppm of sulphite that was added is not total free since alot of that woupd have bound with oxygen and such. Test kits in canada here are like $60 for 10 tests so pretty expensive...something i would like to avoid.
I think that @NorCal ’s point is that you’ve added quadruple what you need, and if you’ve handled your wine properly, in six weeks you’re nowhere near a level that you should consider adding more. I agree with him, though if you really plan to age the wine, consider another few months in the carboy.
Ill try for bulk aging but hoping to free up the carboy, i have a wine celler anyways so aging in the bottle also works for me. I would leave it longer on the oak but there is a nice 1/2" layer of yeast on the bottom that should get racked off soon..., plus i heard for oak cubes 6 weeks is enough to extract the flavor. Not sure if it matters but the 5G of sulphite was added while i was clearing...its been racked from that once. Once it was racked i than added the 1/4tsp additional and the oak cubes and its been sitting for about 6 weeks.
