Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

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benna

Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

Post by benna » Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:55 pm

Hello people,

So I've just made my first wine kit, I've made plenty of 'country' wine in the past but thought I'd give a proper red wine a go. It has finished fermenting now, I have left it for a week or so and is down to about 991, not getting any lower, the instructions tell me now to add the sulphites. Is this strictly neccessary. I never added any stabalisers or anything to the wines I've made previously but this is obviously a bit posher and I don't want to ruin the wine but I would rather not add the sulphites if possible. What do others think?

Thanks!

Zante

Re: Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

Post by Zante » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:06 pm

Hmm...

Sulphites aren't something that you must add necessarily, although I do add them to my wines.
Grape wine isn't really any different from other wines per se, so if you feel confident I suppose you could follow your experience and not add them.

On the other hand it's a kit, and my gut feeling would be to say to follow what the kit says.

Sorry, I didn't help much, did I?

oldbloke
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Re: Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

Post by oldbloke » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:27 pm

I've had one wine that was badly oxidised and one that was oxidised a bit, and one that tried to push the corks out.
So now I always stabilise, with a sorbate&sulphite combo

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Horden Hillbilly
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Re: Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

Post by Horden Hillbilly » Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:17 pm

If the wine is going to be drank fairly soon, you'll probably be ok if you leave the sulphite out. For long term storage though, & to prevent possible re-fermentation & to help preserve the wine, use the sulphite/stabiliser sachets that came in your kit.

benna

Re: Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

Post by benna » Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:27 pm

Yep OK, thanks, good advice. Most of the wine I've made before has been pretty slap dash and if it turns out good it's a bonus. I think I'll stick to the programme and add the stabiliser. The thing that put me off was the guy in the home brew shop saying if you drank the wine too soon you would taste the sulphites. I think I just need to be more patient and leave it alone for a few months after bottling.

Thanks again.

oldbloke
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Re: Do I realy need to add the sulphites in kit?

Post by oldbloke » Sat Feb 27, 2016 1:58 am

benna wrote:Yep OK, thanks, good advice. Most of the wine I've made before has been pretty slap dash and if it turns out good it's a bonus. I think I'll stick to the programme and add the stabiliser. The thing that put me off was the guy in the home brew shop saying if you drank the wine too soon you would taste the sulphites. I think I just need to be more patient and leave it alone for a few months after bottling.

Thanks again.

Hmmm. It's usually the sorbate that people reckon they can taste, and using the sulphite with it stops that. Too much sulphite might be detectable, but most commercial wine has it. Stick to the amount provided by the kit designers and it should be fine.

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