campden tablets : I get too much sulphur in my wine

I think you got bad advice on using campden tablets to be honest. 1 per US gallon is roughly 70 PPM SO2. So how I would use them in 7 gallons would be:

• 3 to no more than 5 each rack depending on how gently I was racking.

Your first rack can be splashy; it can help to finish up any remaining sugar in the wine. After that, gentle racks like you did are better. I think you just used too much, that is all.

I prefer using the powdered form, I use 1/4 teaspoon K2SO4 initially and a rounded 1/8 teaspoon each rack for 5 gallons.

Joe

One. One Campden tablet per gallon, and generally only every other racking. I also wouldn't add any right before bottling, as that may produce unacceptable levels of free SO2 in the bottled product..

SO2 will dissipate; have you tried decanting the wine prior to serving?

I used to have too much sulfite in my wine too so started measuring the SO2 regularly, especially on whites. The results were quite surprising - I would lose only 10-20ppm between the rackings, even for periods as long as 6 months or more. So these days I go even lower than the amounts Joe mentioned and I like the results.

I would recommend measuring the free SO2 to get a handle on what you need on average, this can vary significantly based on technique and your juice/grape sources. For whites, I'm very happy with the Vinoferm testing kit - easier to measure and more economical than Titrets. The only drawback is it can be had to find, I have to get it shipped form California.

Pp

I forgot to mention: is the smell sulphur dioxide (SO2) or hydrogen sulphide (H2S)? H2S is generally caused by yeast autolysis and can be avoided by racking off of the lees before the yeast starts breaking down.

Just to add to the already good advice. The lower the Ph the less SO2 needed. I don't remember the actual amounts but if your Ph is high, say around 3.8-4.0 you need more SO2 in ppm to protect it compared to if the Ph was , say, 3.2.

Bob

Greg Lorriman wrote:

thanks for the advice. Decanting is a jolly good idea; I should do it more often.

It's definately sulpur dioxide. I've smelt decomposing lees: revolting.

Interesting. Where do you get such info? My winemaking books haven't led me so far down this path.

I think I'll try that advice about not adding campden tablets before bottling. I;m not expecting it to last so long anyway. One thing I probably should mention : I've added no tannin to this batch of peach wine. Considering the oxygen absorbing properties of tannin do you have any opinion on that move?

Joe,

I think I accidentally replied to you by email.

That info is absolutely correct as a heads up. Margalit's Winery Technology and Operations is one source among many. I can send you an excel spreadsheet of the values but if you look in the archives of this group I'm sure it's been posted.

Do you have to make any of these measurements to make good wine? You will get different answers but it is possible to make good wine without doing any of this. Making repeatably good wines is easier though if you know some of the basic parameters the others were made under though.

I do a lot of measurement but that is my background; I like to do that. I know many people who make good wine with just a hydrometer and their taste buds though. I'll not knock that.

There are just a few basics I think you absolutely have to do; you need to know the sugar you start with, the hydrometer gets that. You need to keep the wine away from air, an airlock and proper topping handles that. You need to keep the sulfite levels high enough to protect the wine. Some just add 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite per 5 gallons (US) every time they rack and leave it at that.

Personally, that is not good enough for me. I want to know more about how these wines were made so i take additional measurements for titratable acidity, pH and residual sugar. (My sulfite measurement technique is suspect, I agree aeration oxidation is the preferred way to go.)

A "Rule of Thumb" is this for the following pH

pH | SO2 in parts per million

In other words, just look at the tenths digit in the pH and multiply times 100

I'm definately interested in measurement; I just haven't had materials that suggested that much more than titration was available to the amateur.

Any other book recommendations?

Thanks for the great info,

Greg