Comments on: Using Potassium Metabisulfite to Make Wine http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/ Your Winemaking Educational Source Mon, 25 Jun 2018 06:43:56 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 By: Matt Williams http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-186 Wed, 19 Nov 2014 04:46:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-186 In reply to larry.

Hi Larry, very good question. Wine making yeast is one of the only micro organisms that can survive the sulfites used to stabilize a wine.

This is why you’ll often see fruit wine recipes that call for sulfites be added to the fruit juice 24 hours before you add the yeast. The sulfites kill off the wild yeast and spoilage micro organisms and allow the wine yeast to come in and dominate the fermentation.

Was the sulfites supposed to go in after fermentation per your kit instructions? -Matt

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By: larry http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-185 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:26:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-185 question: i make my own homemade wine from a kit…I accidentally added the potassium metabisulphite at the same stage as i would add yeast…will this harm the wine (merlot)

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By: Matt Williams http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-184 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:40:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-184 Hi Daniel, great question. Campden tablets are actually just potassium metabisulfite packaged in a premeasured “pill”. It can stop fermentation with weaker wild yeast strains but for the most part traditional wine making yeast strains should be able to withstand most normal sulfite levels.

In general the best way to stop a fermentation is to use a sterile filtration system. Filters with a mesh of 0.45 microns or finer will actually remove single celled organisms from your wine, yeast or spoilage organisms.

I hope this helps Daniel! -Matt

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By: Matt Williams http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-183 Tue, 23 Sep 2014 03:34:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-183 In reply to Mark.

Hi Mark, great question! The potassium metabisulfite is used to stabilize the must is to know out any stray micro-organisms to compete with. Wine yeast just happens to be strong enough to deal with reasonable levels of sulfites so there’s a chance that the yeast you’ve previously added.

I would recommend giving the must a little time to see if the first dose of yeast can power through the sulfite dosage. The good news is that your wine will be protected from everything else too so you aren’t at a great risk of spoilage or other micro-organisms.

You can pick up yeast flavors in a finished wine if you add too much yeast to the must. Giving the must 24-36 hours or so to see if fermentation begins shouldn’t hurt anything and may help you avoid yeast flavors in the finished wine.

Please let me know how it goes for you and what you decide to do. Cheers! -Matt

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By: Mark http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-182 Mon, 22 Sep 2014 23:07:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-182 I added yeast yesterday and forgot to add potassium bisulfate I just added it. Is it going to be ok to add yeast for a second time after 24 hrs?

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By: Matt Williams http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-181 Sat, 30 Nov 2013 05:32:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-181 In reply to Gary Beaumont.

Gary, thanks for sharing your experience! Avoiding sorbate is a good idea when you can. I was really surprised when I found out what it can do to the flavor and aroma profiles long term. I truly believe that the more we know about the wine making process and the additives that go into it the better our wines will be. I hope this is your experience as well.

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By: Gary Beaumont http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-180 Fri, 29 Nov 2013 17:36:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-180 After Matt`s help I now have Pot met to use 🙂 also have stopped adding any pot sorbate as my wine finishes at .992 to .990 and as i`m not back sweetening so decided not to use it.

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By: Mike http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-179 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 17:56:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-179 In reply to Matt Williams.

Thanks Matt. I will heed your advice and leave that batch alone. More importantly, I will know for my next batch to use potassium metabisulphite.

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By: Matt Williams http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-178 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 13:31:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-178 In reply to Mike.

Hi Mike, that’s a really good question. I do not recommend adding at the potassium metabisulfite at this point.

The most important part of either additive is the sulfites. Potassium and sodium are used to bind SO2 gas and keep it in a solid form. Once it hits your wine and dissolves the SO2 gas is released and we no longer have any use for the potassium or sodium.

If you were to add potassium metabisulfite on top of sodium metabisulfite I would worry that your sulfite levels would be too high. You would then need to test your wine to determine if the sulfite levels are safe for you to consume the wine.

Sodium metabisulfite can impart a salty taste over time but likely this won’t happen with just one dosage. If you plan on doing subsequent sulfite additions I would then recommend switching to potassium metabisulfite but if that was the last dose then don’t worry about it.

I hope this helps Mike!

Matt

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By: Mike http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-wine/#comment-177 Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:00:00 +0000 http://winemakersacademy.org/?p=884#comment-177 Hi Matt, I didnt realize there was a difference, and I have added sodium metabisulfite to my wine for aging. From your article, it looks like I should have bought and used potassium metabisulphite. Should I go ahead and add the potassium meta now or should I just leave it be as is before bottling.

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