My boyfriend wants to know if he can clarify wine using potassium metabisulfite, and if so how much should he use per 5 gallon carboys? Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions given.
Clarifying Wine
Jul 05, 2004
2 Replies
What kind of wine is it? How long has the wine been aging? How many times have you racked it? Usually, racking a wine off the lees and aging clears a wine. I would check Jack Keller's site
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for how to clarify a wine - it all depends on why you think the wine is not clearing. Darlene
The short answer is "NO"!
Potassium metabisulfite is a sanitizer/preservative. It is not a clarifying agent. Wine needs to have a little bit of it present to prevent spoilage organisms from growing in it, but the amount is very small and it does nothing to help clarify the wine. For that you need a fining agent, such as gelatin, isinglass, chitosan etc.
Check out Jack Keller's or Ben Rotter's site for more on this topic.
Tom S
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