Mosti Mondiale My first MM kit

[grapeman]

That's a bummer laneygirl. It always makes you cringe and have doubts. Aslong as the stopper was even loosely on the carboy, it should be OK. That will keep all the critters out. The CO2 is heavier than air, so it should have stayed put where it belonged. There are no guarantees with it-just keep your fingers crossed. Unless you have added the upper end of allowed sulfites already- use another 1/4 tsp of K-meta to bump up the sulfites. This will help keep an unfriendly environment for spoilage bacteria and acetobacter and provide a little extra protection. Sort of like these new nose sprays they have for a common cold- you might already have a mild disease, but it helps to keep it from getting any worse.

 

[masta]

I had this happen to me when I tried a solid bung on a carboy during bulk aging a while ago and don't know how long it was out. The wine turned out fine so there is hope.

 

[laneygirl]

Hi Masta,


Well, I'm glad there's still hope....I'm going to begin the clarification/stablilization phase pretty soon and noticed the kit comes with meta bisulphite and am wondering if I should add more to protect against bugs or if that addition will be sufficient. What would you do or recommend?

Thanks.

 

[grapeman]

laneygirl I would add the k-meta that comes with the kit now to be safe. Later before final steps and bottling I would add another 1/4 tsp K-meta. This is normal for extended aging and would only give it added protection against spoilage bacteria that could have possibly entered when the airlock was off.

 

[masta]

I concur with appleman!

 

[laneygirl]

Thanks Appleman and Masta...you guys are great!!! I appreciate your expertise.

 

[laneygirl]

I've finally got some time to do this amongst Christmas stuff and am wondering do I just add 1/4 tsp to the 6 gallon carboy and stir with Fizz-X or a spoon? Or do I need to dilute it with some wine or ?


Thanks...

 

[Wade E]

What I like to do is add the 1/4 tsp in the bottom of an empty carboy and rack onto it. You can dilute it with 1/4 cup of water and add iy but becareful stirring it in as it will want to do the volcano action and that is why I like to rack onto it.

 

[laneygirl]

How much K-meta is in a typical kit (without any extra additions for mess ups like mine or for bottling for extra preservation) vs a typical bottle of red wine that you buy at the store?

 

[laneygirl]

Sorry, Wade...I forgot to say thanks...I'll try that approach of putting at the bottom of the carboy.

 

[geocorn]

Based on discussions with both MM and WE, if you add the extra K-meta, your SO2 is around 30-40 ppm. Commercial wines are in the 75-200 ppm. As a result, even if you add the extra K-meta your wine contains 50% or less of the sulfites in commercial bottles.

 

[laneygirl]

Hi George,


Thanks for the info. So is the 30-40 ppm of K-meta with one extra addition at bottling time or two (one at bottling and in my case, one extra during stabilization/clarification)?


BTW...what happens if you add during secondary fermentation?

 

[Wade E]

If you add during secondary it will most kill the yeast befrore it ferments to dryness and you will have a slightly sweet wine which will not be a good thing if thats not what you want. If you add the extra k-meta you will be around 50-60ppm. This si just a guess as there are 2 many variables that make SO2 bound.

 

[laneygirl]

The instructions that came with MM ME kit said to degas 4 times in 24 hours by stirring vigorously or using Fizz-X stirring type device.
My question is: what if more CO2 comes out after that 24 hours when stirred vigorously? Is there any harm in continuing to degas for 48 or more hours? Or is there a disadvantage in delaying the addition of siligel and liquigel and isinglass to give more time to degas?

 

[Wade E]

The more gas you get out the better the fining agent will work. Personally I dont think you can sufficiently degas with a spoon, and I believe this is why they say this because they probably get a lot of people calling with problems clearing cause they havent degassed thoroughly, or even worse, bottled and wondering why their wine tastes carbonated. A few more days is a good thing as long as your topped up properly.

 

[uavwmn]

Laneygirl, I tried the spoon degassing thing and believe me, you will be running to Home Depot shopping for a wonderful drill!! haha
I bought the cordless one, pretty inexpensive and a life saver for degassing ease.

 

[laneygirl]

Wade - Thanks for the reply....why is topping off important while degassing? I thought it might be better to degas fully and then top off. I am using the Fizz X stirred and the little extra space has allowed me to avoid wine volcanoes

....and I was actually going to get some marbles, sanitize them and add them since I don't want to "contaminate the wine" by topping it off. Perhaps, I have an inexperienced view of topping off though?

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

laneygirl I share the same view and practice as far as degassing, and topping off with marbles when fully degassed, hasn't failed me yet.

 

[Wade E]

I agree with leaving a little room before degassing but just want you to leave it susceptible until you degas. The Marbles are a good thing for removing headroom. If you are going to let it sit for awhile you can top off or fill the space with marbles and then just pull a little out to degas and then add it back.