SO2 question

[Joanie]

I have tested one of my white wines with a titrete. It worked perfectly! The So2 measures 55ppm. Should I add k-meta when I rack or is it enough? What is enough?

 

[Joanie]

The second wine tested at 40.

 

[Waldo]

I may be wrong Joan but I think around 50ppm is the target.

 

[Dean]

Yep 50ppm is a great target to hit. Take into account how long you wish to age the wine, and add more accordingly. I think a corked bottle of wine will lose about 20-30ppm per year. But don't quote me on that as I'm going from memory on that.

So, if you are going to age over 1 year, about 75ppm is a good target, and if you will consume early, 50 is great!

EDIT: Oh yeah, 50 is the magic number for prevention of bacterial infection.Edited by: Dean

 

[Joanie]

Thanks, Dean.

 

[Joanie]

I missed your post, Waldo! Thank you!

 

[masta]

More detailed info on the role and uses of sulfite from past newsletters:


http://www.finevinewines.com/sulfites2.htm


http://www.finevinewines.com/sulfites1.htm


http://www.finevinewines.com/Sulfites3.htm

 

[Joanie]

Great reads, Masta! Thank you for posting the links!

It seems the more I learn, the less I know!

 

[Jwhelan939]

So if i had a port I wanted to age for 10 years, would I really 250ppm?

 

[grapeman]

You also need to take the pH of the wine into consideration. The higher the pH, the more S02 you need. Because whites are typically a lower pH, they require less S02.

 

[Wade E]

I erased my previous post as I wasnt happy with my info as it is IMO a matter of opinion. I will say that Ports do best with aging as higher abv protect the wine better along with higher tannins, both of these help prevent oxidation. Commercially, wines are typically sulfited to 25 ppm - 150 ppm but have a limit of 350 ppm.
Rich, why do white wines typically contain more sulfites then?
Edited by: wade

 

[grapeman]

White wines are more often finished off dry than reds. You need higher S02 levels to help prevent renewed fermentation, so the higher levels are used in off-dry wines. If you have a dry white with a low pH, you just plain don't need the higher S02 levels. I'm talking about commercial wines here, not kits that depend on sorbate to prevent refermentation.

 

[Wade E]

Makes sense Rich, Thanks!