Metabisulphite needed?

Hi,

I'm ready to bottle a Woodbridge Cab batch and on the instructions it mentions that if you plan to age the wine for the recommended 6 month period you should add additional Metabisulphite to the batch before bottling. I will age some of the bottles for far longer than 6 months so does that mean that I need to add more Metabisulphite to the bottles that will age longer than to the ones that will be consumed this year?

I understand that Metabisulphite is meant to control bacteria & wild yeast but if a bottle is sealed with a little Metabisulphite, wouldn't it kill any foreign objects and the seal keep new ones from entering? If so, why would I need to add more Metabisulphite than I already did

5 weeks ago before racking to the 2nd carboy? Does Metabisulphite have any bad side-effects?

Thanks for any tips!!!

MarkW

Na Meta has 2 purposes. First, in inhibits (not necessarily kills) some bad organisms. Consequently it may protect your wine to some extent. Cleanliness is better insurance in this regard.

But the main thing it does is protect against oxidation. At bottling you need the proper level for the acidity of your wine. Having too much does not help and may give an off taste. Some people detect it and others do not. If you have too little your wine will probably not last as long during aging. Many homemade wines start going down hill after 18 to 24 months because not enough was used. With proper levels you should be able to age for 5 to 8 years. My wines typically do not make it that far.

A small percent of the population is allergic to sulfites. My son is. He has trouble breathing after 1 or 2 glasses of commercial wine. They err on the high side in protecting their wine. He can drink several glasses of my wine with no ill effects. If you, or someone you know is sensitive to sulfites you can make wine with lower levels or with none. It just needs to be drunk young.

Most good books on winemaking will have a section on the proper level to use with wines of different acidity. The less acidic, the more you need.

Ray