Re: Sanitizing with potassium metabisulfite...too much of good thing?

To be blunt, you are fiddling with your wine too much. Unless you are doing a science project rather than making wine, there is no reason to test it every day. Once a week is more than enough. If the airlock is still bubbling, even slowly, it is healthy and happy. Leave it alone. When you think it is finished or needs racking, test it. Every test is putting it at risk.

If you clean your equipment good and put it away where it is not going to get dirty, you do not need to do all that sanitizing. Maybe a wipe down. If there is no food or wine left on the equipment, germs will not grow on it. Just rinse it good or wipe it with a sulfite soaked paper towel or cloth and use it. Think what all that sulfite you are spraying around is doing to your lungs. Nothing nice I assure you.

Ray

It's probably been hashed and rehashed, but a quick question or two on > sanitizing. I've made up a solution of 1.5 tablespoons sulfite powder in 1 > gallon of water. This is a little stronger than the 1 tablespoon per > gallon recommended in the winemaking FAQ. > > I spray anything that I dip into the primary with my meta solution every > time. Try to shake off excess, but especially when using wine thief to get > a hydrometer reading, there are decent size drops of solution on the glass > when I dip in (I don't like to wait a ton of time after sanitizing, for > equip to dry, etc). I also spray the inside of the primary bucket's lid > and the rubber bung every time they go back on the primary. Obviously over > time, there is more pot meta getting into the must in this process. I > don't want to overdo the sulfite content in my cherry wine batch, > especially because I'm using Montrachet yeast and I've read about the stink > factor associated with this if too much sulfur is present during ferment. > I already added 1 campden tablet prior to adding yeast... > > I guess I'm wondering (1) is my sanitizing solution too strong, and (2) > either way, is it wise for me to take a hydrometer reading every day during > primary ferment, given that I'm adding some more pot meta every single time > I do so? I guess I don't want to end up with the mother of headache- > inducing sulfite wines. Am I worrying over nothing? > >

Let's start over. When using sulfites for sanitizing, it's best to get the acid level of the solution up too; it's more effective that way. I use 1 tsp citric acid (it's cheap) to 1/2 tsp potassium metabisulfite per US quart.

I would not test that much either, but I doubt you are not hurting anything including your lungs. I have been spraying for at least 5 years with no problems. You are not adding much sulfite if you shake the excess off, especially if you are talking 5 gallons or more.

That said, if you are coughing, your lungs are upset with what you are breathing so avoid doing it. Maybe you are more sensitive to the vapors than I.

I do pretty much as you, I wash well and spray my equipment with sulfite solution prior to use. It probably makes me feel better that anything else, wine is pretty hard to infect if you keep all of your equipment clean. I wash immediately after and before use. Regards, Joe