WHAT ! no k-meta

[jerry]

I have only been making wine a few years. I have a lot of questions. When I talk to someone who has been making wine for a long time I try to get all the info I can. I am SHOCKED to find a few people do not use Potassium or sodium metabisulfite or sorbate. When I question them , I hear the same thing,{We didn't even have that stuff years ago].


Did anyone else come across people that don't use sulfite's and sorbate?

Maybe I am missing something, or there is a lot of wine out there that should not be consumed.

Jerry

 

[masta]

You certainly can make wine without anything even yeast but your chances of having issues increases.


When you you talk these folks who don't use any k-meta or sorbate ask them if they ever had anybatches of wine that had problems.

 

[Wade E]

1 of my friends is stubborn like this an I dont drink hi wine cause Im afraid to. He does not sanitize anything or add anything at all. His basement is almost solid purple from exploding bottles and had 110 gallons of vinegar 2 years ago. I tried a bottle before I hadstarting making wine and it wasnt bad but must admit that I wasnt into red wine at the time earlier. I bet he makes a decent wine but just a little worried about his sanitary conditions.

 

[PolishWineP]

I am a firm believer in using advancements in health safety. The safety of my food and drink are high on those lists. Using chemicals developed for wine safety will always be a part of my wine making habits. And to those who figure that just because they didn't have the chemicals in the old days, so why use them now, I ask, "Did you get your polio vaccine?"

They may get some good wines, but I don't want to waste my time or money. And, I bet the monks who were instrumental in the development of wine and beer making would have used those chemicals had they been available.

 

[jerry]

PolishWineP; I agree with you 100%. Some people think because it's alcohol, no bacteria can grow in it.








masta; My friends grandfather never used k-met. One time he had a mold 1/2 inch thick on top of the wine. The old timer just stuck the hose under the mold and bottled.

wade; Maybe your friend just wanted to save on paint.

 

[joeswine]

the older generation of wine makers ,some ,maybe some not always made wine and other brews in the triditional style of wine making,at least in south philly were i grew up all the house holds had some sort of vino in the basement and to them they would brake open a barrel every other year,sometimes good and not but that was their way then,and to them there was next year,but they also settled on what came of that years batch,were we have the ability to control the environment in which the wine is stored and manufactured along with the health and safety factures that contribuite to good wine practices and good tasteing wine,we'll always have some problems with what you read hear on this forum ,but should never hear of a health concern,the chemicals we use are small conpared to the volume there in this has been stated over and over,yes use whats availble to safe guiard yourself and your wine or beer,bad beer can kill you,

 

[grapeman]

I am a firm believer in using advancements in health safety. The safety of my food and drink are high on those lists. Using chemicals developed for wine safety will always be a part of my wine making habits. And to those who figure that just because they didn't have the chemicals in the old days, so why use them now, I ask, "Did you get your polio vaccine?"

Not to change the subject here, but I had to comment a bit here.....


Yes I, like everyone else around got my Polio shot as a kid- my Mom made sure of that since she had Polio as a kid and recovered. I also got my DTP shot(diptheria, tetanus, pertussis) as a kid and all my children have also.
I have been sick for two days since starting on Azithromycin- a potent 5 day antibiotic treatment. Why? Because my son has had a bad cough for two weeks and he wasn't getting better. Last Tuesday he went to the doctor and tested for Pertussis(whooping cough). We got a call from the office on Saturday that his test had come back positive for Pertussis. He had been started on 500 mg of the Azithromycin on Tuesday eve. He is still coughing his head off. We were told that since we were in direct contact and had been exposed we needed to take the antibiotics also- even though we all have been vaccinated. Three out of 5 of us had gotten ill from the Pertussis, nmaybe all in the end.


My point is- all things, bacteria, etc mutate. We need to take every precaution we can to prevent infections of any kind- even in our wine and beer.

 

[PeterZ]

Appleman, I had pertussis when I was about 4 years old. I was hospitalized for a week. Not much in the way of antibiotics in the '50s.

 

[hannabarn]

Everybody got it in the '30s! I don't think the word "antibiotic" had been used yet!!!

 

[joeswine]

every year i get a flue shot,and every year i go down to the bug at least for 9 days,i've had phonoemia( no i didn't spell that right 2 times with it ,i can understand people how you feel frustrated with it all,doesn't seam no matter what you try it gets stronger than the year before,well back to the subject ,had a senior monent just then

 

[jerry]

I use the sanitizing solution of 3 tablespoons k-meta/ gallon of water. I know some people add citric acid to the solution. Is the citric acid needed oram I'm fine without it?

 

[grapeman]

It works fine without it.