organic wine vs preservitives

[SmokinDawg]

Hi all,
My question is: what is the value, other than speed, to adding all those chemicals to my wine? There are two groups of thought around where I live one says "the wine is clearer, and finishes to drinkability much faster with the sulfate, clarifiers etc" the other guys say "that those guys are impatient and lazy, just wait longer and filter and polish your wine prior to bottling and you wont get all the added chemical taste." I would like to hear arguements for both methods and any tips you may have.


Thanks

 

[grapeman]

First just because you don't use chemicals or additives in your winemaking process does not make it organic. You would also have to purchase or raise your fruit or juice totally pesticide and chemical free.


I believe if you are making kits, use the included additives and get the results you expect from your wine. If you are using fruit or grape juice you can get a very good wine with very few additives. I use K-meta no matter what. The wine produces it anyways during production so I use it to help keep my wine safe. The object of cutting chemical usage is to reduce the risk of bad things in the wine. To me infectious bacteria, etc is worse than just a bit of a naturally occuring substance. The other chemicals have their purpose and if you wine making doesn't require them, then their use is optional. If you are making a totally dry wine and won't sweeten, you probably don't need sorbate. If your fruit doesn't have a lot of tough skins or pectin, you probably don't need pectic enzyme. If your musts pH and acid is in balance, you don't need those.


Just have a reason for everything you put in your wine and you will have less additives in there.

 

[joeswine]

well this goes back to how you were trained to think on the process,i use all the chemicals at my desposal in the correct steps as needed,,the amounts are so small that taste is'nt affected but the longentivity of the product is and the health of the product in the bottle or ageing vessel is good.

also not all wines as appleman stated need apply,it goes back to how you were trained to think,reds for example racking is alls thats required till bottling then k/met and sorbate (stops and refememntation from reaccurence //adds to shelf life,)whites and fruit wine however are different in that they share some of the same properitys but are handled a little different,you may need a finding agent to get the product polished, or very clear,makes the product more eye appelling,fruits may need pectin emz. to brake down the fruit and exteact the flavors and color, also emzs. are sometimes used in the end product to help clear a haze in the wine as well as a finding agent ,all these components are used at there approperate time in the loop and at small quanities but they are used throught out the industry from novest to pros,for a reason,but getting back to you, youhave the final say in your wine and in time you'll find what you need to do to make your product happen,your the final judge,people who use chemicals to aid a products life span or increase flavor or help in clearring are not lazy they making a product in a process that is time tested and proven//read this forum and you'll see all the talk about HOW TO/////

good luck in your new adventure

 

[Tomy]

No body trained me how to make wine Joe as I helped my Grandpa collect, pickfruit, veggs as they ripened in season. Its now so easy to make wine, as the ingreadents are as close as the corner store. The kit wines are so easy to make you really have to screw up for them to come out bad, as every thing is thought out for you before hand. Tomy

 

[joeswine]

HI tomy, i agree with you kits are connecting the dots ,sort of ,but tell me did your grandfatther make wine? some were along the line there was some form of guidence,that was your hands on and a great way to do it also,lots of history in that,kits do make for a good bottle of wine though,and they are quick,thats there attraction,i don't make them like i use to ,i prefer pure juice or fresh fruit,a little more complicated,but still all the basic principles apply to wine making and appling those are the determing factor in each persons way of making wine,timeing ,and patents are skills aquired and errors cost,I'am not great at this craft by no means,but i do like the people i've came in contact with and the fun it brings me,we each find our own way,don't we?

 

[NorthernWinos]

I bought a couple books for myself over Christmas time about making 'natural' type wines.


"WINE FROM THE WILDS' and "WILD WINES"...Both books are nice...they give you the usual wine making tips as well as tips on gathering the fruits and flowers they use in the recipes.


They both have recipes for wine using just...Fruit...Sugar...Water and Yeast....Nothing I would try, but the topics on the fruit and identification is nicely done...


If you are truly interested in making this type of wine check these books out on eBay...amazon.com...half.com...Got mine pretty inexpenesivly...so not put out about not using the books for the recipe parts....The fruit and flower identifications are very good, as well as harvest times...etc..

 

[jobe05]

They sound like good books to have NW, did you get them local to you, or on line?

DUH!!!!! Just finished reading the post............ never mind...........

Edited by: jobe05

 

[PolishWineP]

You may want to read this thread from Sunday.


http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5134

 

[Wade E]

It is true that you dont absolutely need everyone of these for every wine you make. You dont ever need fining agents but that requires more time which is fine for some people. I myself like to use them as I want to make a lot of wine so they can age better and I dont want to buy anymore carboys. I prefer to use sulfites as I dont want to buy, make wait for aging, bottle for some time only to find out that my wine has developed an infection from bacteria that could have been fixed or kept away completely with a minute addition of sulfite.

 

[SmokinDawg]

I appreciate all your thoughts. Thanks, I am new at this and am getting some contradictory advise, locally. Not getting sick makes sense to me though.

 

[Tomy]

Actually getting sick when your 16 years old after drinking a gallon of Mogen David red with your buddy Oinker isn't that bad. We ended up about 2AM in the Catholic Cemetery hugging a tomestone trying to keep the world from spinning. Tomy

 

[swillologist]

I didn't know that everyone done that.

 

[joeswine]

boy tomy i did the same thing when i was a teenager,only was a gallon of rosso,red table wine,got sick as a dog and tasted ,sweat,urinated,smelt like wine for a week never was so sick,but did i larn a lesson(always make sure your wine is chilled)

 

[zember311]

Actually getting sick when your 16 years old after drinking a gallon of Mogen David red with your buddy Oinker isn't that bad. We ended up about 2AM in the Catholic Cemetery hugging a tomestone trying to keep the world from spinning. Tomy

 

[joeswine]

I woke up the following morning in a flower bed no where near were i lived.then got taken by police van to philly gen. hospital and had my stomuck pumped,never forget that night for as long as i live (of course i could'nt remember anything else of that event either

)Edited by: joeswine

 

[zember311]

I woke up the following morning in a flower bed no where near were i lived.then got taken by police van to philly gen. hospital and had my stomuck pumped,never forget that night for as long as i live (of course i could'nt remember anything else of that event either

)

The closest I come to that now in my olden age is when I take my weekend escapes to New Orleans

about once a month


I don't remember much, but always end up paying th bar tab and motel room

3 beers for 1 specials start to catch up with you after awhile.....

Edited by: zember311

 

[mississippi mud]

Every time I went it was 1 beer for the price of 3. I guess that was the bar tab and the hotel added in. It scares me to know people still drive home on I-10 from Bourbon st. , I'm sure I'm not the only one lucky to be alive

. It's so much nicer to sit at the house and make/drink wine.

 

[joeswine]

SEE HOW CLOSE WE ALL OTHER <NO MATTER WHAT THE DISTANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!