Sulfites Clouding My Wine?

[Craiger]

Hi,
My wine has been aging in carboys since October. I racked a couple of times (without adding sulfites), and each time (as expected) I would get fewer and fewer fine lees on the bottom. However, the last time I racked, I added sulfites (in the form of one crushed campden tablet per gallon). I expected that to be the last racking before I bottled, and I planned on bottling today. Well within a few days after that last racking I had way more lees deposited on the bottom of the carboy than I did in that last several months!

So today, instead of bottling, I'm going to rack again. I would wait to rack, but I also added oak chips during my last racking, and I need to get the wine off of them. And I don't think it's the oak chips that caused this, because I've done that many times before and they never caused this to happen.

So, my question is, can sulfites cause all those additional lees to drop out and cause my wine to cloud a little?

 

[Arne]

You can get this from the binders that hold the campden tabs together. Also maybe something off the oak. Rack it off and let it sit for a while. The wine probably wasn't quite clear yet and if you had bottled it, it would probably have deposited the lees in the bottles after a while. Also, this time of year our wines tend to warm up a bit with the weater warming up some. That can make some of the lees fall out on their own. Arne.

 

[Bergmann]

I agree with Arne on the binder in the campden, Especially if it was sodium Metabisulphite which is one of the reasons I do not use it. Stick with Potassium Metabisulphite if you used the former. However, I would say it is most likely from the oak. this is one of those cases where you cannot always go by past experiences, Just because oaking has not clouded your wine in the past does not mesn it will not happen, Differences in the oak, be they manufactures, degree of toast, or the trees individual characteristics can make all the difference in the world. As well as the wine they go into. Just do what you would and let age some more it will clear.

 

[Craiger]

Thank you for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I just racked, and now it's time to wait again. I'm also going to rethink my use of the tablets instead of the powder.
Thanks!

 

[avatar]

I believe that my use of the campden tablets are affecting my wine as well, but is it Potassium Metabisulphite or Potassium Metabisulphate? My local supplier carries the latter, not the former. Are they interchangeable?

 

[Turock]

We use campden tabs also and have never had it cloud the wine. This is a very young wine, and it's just a fact that wine continues to drop sediment for quite some time. Suspended solids and all those components that create haze plus things like potassium can recloud wines when they are manipulated, or bottled too early and then refrigerated, or stored under certain conditions. So I would allow this wine to bulk age for at least 1 year, and maybe longer, especially if it's a grape wine. In the end, it will fully clarify out all the solids so that the wine doesn't recloud, IF you give it enough time in bulk aging.

 

[sour_grapes]

I believe that my use of the campden tablets are affecting my wine as well, but is it Potassium Metabisulphite or Potassium Metabisulphate? My local supplier carries the latter, not the former. Are they interchangeable?

It is the former. Your local supplier has just mislabeled it.

 

[avatar]

It is the former. Your local supplier has just mislabeled it.

Thanks for the clarification.