help with pottasium metabisulfite

[stevo]

any help would be appreciated ,my pinot noir is in a demi 15 gal rite now i fermented in the pails and mixed into demi john,did not degass the wine {my newbiness} the sg is at .0990 rite now the wine seems to be degassing but not that much,my question is if i add my pottasium metabisulfate now should i rack it first or is it ok to add now and stir in..thanx

 

[Rocky]

I would rack the wine from the demijohn, clean the demijohn and return the wine to that vessel. Then I would stir the wine vigorously for about 2 minutes with a spoon handle to degass and add the K-meta and K-sorbate, stirring it in well. If you plan to use fining agents like Keiselsol and Chitosan, stir them in at this point. Top off the demijohn if needed and put it under airlock. Since your SG is at 0.990 (I think that is what you meant) is seems fully fermented. I assume you are going to bulk age it in the demijohn.

 

[cpfan]

I would stir for longer than 2 minutes. Also I find side-to-side with the spoon handle degasses better than round-and-round.

Steve

 

[Rocky]

I have found that method works well too, Steve. I lay the palm of my left hand on the top of the carboy and cup the spoon handle between my thumb and forefinger. With my right hand I grab the stirrer just below the spoon and work it side to side while moving it slowily back and forth. A couple minutes of this very vigorously applied works for me.

 

[stevo]

thank you everyone

 

[djrockinsteve]

You want to be sure you do not add more oxygen to the wine. Similar to Rocky I move it with quick strokes. Holding the paddle in one spot at the neck, then move the top of the spoon briskly I will bring up lots of CO2 but the movement at the surface is minimized. Most of my CO2 is released when I splash rack.