How much metabisulfite to add at bottling?

[brewboy]

I am looking to bottle a batch of wine today but I am unsure how much sulfite to add per gallon before I bottle it. Most of the instructions I see are by campden tablet but I just have a bag of loose sulfite. Any thoughts?

 

[jswordy]

Per gallon? Well, I usually add 1/8 tsp for FIVE gallons before bottling, if that helps. Some add another 1/4 tsp. dose per FIVE gallons but if I've been doing my every other racking 1/4 tsp dose, then adding 1/8 is just enough.

If you are going 1/4 tsp/5 gallons, that's 1/16th teaspoon per gallon. If using 1/8 for 5, that's 1/32 tsp. for one gallon. Approximately.

 

[brewboy]

thanks! thats just what I needed. Just out of curiosity does anybody know what the actual ppm I am hoping for?

 

[jswordy]

In another thread, Dan (Runningwolf) suggest 60 ppm max, and I agree that 50-60 ppm is enough without imparting a sulfur taste to the wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

Thanks Jim...Yes 50-60 ppm MAX! With that being said though it is also based off your ph. If your wine is high in acid then your ppm will be lower. I would not want to go below 25ppm but not over 60.

How many gallons are you doing? How are you going to accurately measure? Suggestion:

If you are doing a carboy of 5-6 gallons go with the 1/8-1/4 tsp in based off the last time you put it in. I am assuming you have no way to measure ppm in your wine.

If your doing gallon jugs, add 1/4 tsp to 6 ounces of hot water and stir to dissolve. Now add 1 ounce of this to each gallon jug you have.

Always dissolve your meta in a bit of hot water before stirring into your wine.

I hope this help......NOW GUESS WHAT????????????

I an headed down to Penn State Main Campus in a few minutes to take a class on just this very subject tomorrow!

 

[jswordy]

^ Hafta change yer name to Dan the Sulfite Man then.

 

[Runningwolf]

^ Hafta change yer name to Dan the Sulfite Man then.

Yuck meta!

 

[brewboy]

oh this wine had a bad fermentation, and I had to referment with ec-1118 ending with an abv of like 16-18%. I figured it was mostly a lost cause and fairly well protected by the high alcohol content and haven't added sulfites to it in quite a while 2+ months. I will probably just throw 1/4 tsp into the 6 gallons and hope for the best. its probably not going to age long anyway. I mostly wanted to get the specific info for future batches.

thanks for your help.

 

[jswordy]

oh this wine had a bad fermentation, and I had to referment with ec-1118 ending with an abv of like 16-18%. I figured it was mostly a lost cause and fairly well protected by the high alcohol content and haven't added sulfites to it in quite a while 2+ months. I will probably just throw 1/4 tsp into the 6 gallons and hope for the best. its probably not going to age long anyway. I mostly wanted to get the specific info for future batches.

thanks for your help.

Sounds like a good blending wine. You could add settled fruit juice concentrate, lower your abv, and come out with a decent semi-sweet or sweet wine. Or blend it with another lower abv wine for complex flavors.