Using Copper Sheet for H2S

[Jwatson]

After I racked my Brunello, I had a small presence of H2S smell. I splashed racked it 3 times over a 1 foot piece of copper sheeting and the H2S smell disappeared. Someone mentioned that using too much copper could be toxic. I know using copper sulfate can be risky, so I used the copper sheet method instead, as recommended by a previous thread. Since my drinking water flows thru copper pipes, do I have any concern about the method I used?

 

[winemaker_3352]

I think you are fine.

 

[ibglowin]

+1 and definitely stay away from the CuSO4!

 

[CoachPieps]

I also agree....You are fine....

 

[Jwatson]

Thanks for the responses. Don't know why I was worrying, especially since I just cooled my beer wort today using a copper wort chiller.

 

[closetwine]

Sounds like you're doing good!!!

 

[fifthhorsm]

i agree your fine with that sort of copper exposure both i have to ask why you needed to splash rake three times or did you just do them all at once... thats alot of exposure to air.... O2 is the enemy of wine. i don't know for sure how much oxidation you caused but i'd guess you gave your wine the equal of around fifteen or twenty years of normal oxidation... so i wouldn't look for this wine to be very long lived.
what yeast did you use... some yeasts are very prone to this...
mike

 

[jet]

...

You are correct that splash racking is an established method to deal with H2S, but it is not without its risks. It does aerate the wine, and if the H2S is bad enough, can cause mercaptans to form.

 

[georges]

you are right. my bad. i was irritated. removed

 

[Jwatson]

I used BM45 yeast with my Brunello kit, knowing full well I could mess it up. A little H2S formed. Another thread recommended splash racking (multiple times) over copper to rid the H2S smell. I added 5 grams of k-meta initially, and an additional 1/4 tsp was added to protect the wine before the last rack. It is pretty well sulfited now so I plan on bulk aging for at least 3 mos and probably more. It tasted very nice after the last rack, and I hope it will stay that way.

 

[fifthhorsm]

i thought you might have been using montrachet yeast... years ago this was the only yeast available to home wine makers and was known to cause such problems.... i never had to do more than one splash racking and never heard of anyone other than on some of these forums that would suggest doing multiple splash rackings.... the normal way to handle this problem is to do one splash rack and give it at least a week for the odor to clear... it takes very little O2 to correct it. once the wine leaves the primary fermenter you want to do all you can to prevent exposure to air. also never try tasteing your wine after adding any chemicals... always taste before adding them.... sulfites/ sorbates etc have nasty taste and impart this to the wine for several days afterwards. this makes it impossible to really tell how the wine is doing.
mike

 

[Jwatson]

I read this fix for H2S on another thread. It is also on grapestompers:

First, measure the amount of sulfites in your wine using a test kit
If deficient, treat wine to 50 PPM sulfites
Rack and splash - rack your wine two or three times, being sure to splash it around a lot as the wine goes from vessel to vessel. The aeration (introduction of oxygen) will help counteract the H2S.
Put the airlock back on and wait a couple of hours or overnight. If it still smells like rotten eggs, keep going...
Get a piece of copper (i.e. copper flashing) from a home supply store.
Pour the wine over the copper so that it runs over the surface of the metal into a receiving vessel.
Fine or filter the wine.
By now, the sulfur smell should at least be greatly diminished. If you can still detect a smell (we've heard that humans can detect H2S in quantities as low as 2 parts per billion), you might try to use an egg white or a gelatin fining agent and fine your wine. Add normal amounts recommended by the manufacturer.
Filter wine through a tight filter.
When all else fails you can use copper sulfate on your wine. A 0.1% solution added at about 0.5 ml per gallon, will give you about 0.3 PPM copper sulfate in your wine. BE CAREFUL. Remember, this stuff is poisonous. DO NOT EXCEED 0.5 PPM of copper.
Fine your wine with a bentonite or Sparkolloid fining agent. This will remove all the copper sulfate.
Filter wine if necessary to remove fining agent.

 

[Jwatson]

It has been one week since I splashed my Brunello over copper to rid the H2S smell. I read that the sulfides will fall out of the wine and settle. I do have about 1/4 inch of sediment now on the bottom of my carboy.

I am thinking a gentle racking followed by adding the fining agents enclosed in the kit is now in order to remove any remaining sulfides. I am referencing my previous thread response. Am I wrong in this approach or should I just wait?