Forgot the campden!

[Jenny P]

I forgot to put a Campden tablet into my secondary when transferring from the primary. Actually, I didn't forget, I didn't know! This is my first try at wine. Anyway, it has been in the secondary for 5 days now, can I add the Campden now? I would dissolve it in a bit of the wine first of course.

Thanks

 

[nik2]

You only do it twice, once 24 hours before pitching yeast to stop unwanted yeasts, and then again when you bottle to help preserve it.
You wouldn't add it when transferring to the secondary as it's still fermenting, and the tablet would stop that.

 

[Kent88]

I've heard of some people who add one campden tablet to homemade batches 5 gallons and up each time they rack, but nobody have ever told me why.

I'm with nik2 on this, until someone explains it to me.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I would not add sulfite without having some idea about how much is in there already.

When adding sulfite I would calculate the amount needed to hit my target instead of adding an arbitrary amount.

You only do it twice, once 24 hours before pitching yeast to stop unwanted yeasts, and then again when you bottle to help preserve it.
You wouldn't add it when transferring to the secondary as it's still fermenting, and the tablet would stop that.

A lot depends on your process and the amount of time it spends aging.
Sulfite does NOT stop fermentation.

@Kent88
From my understanding... If you have a lot of air exposure from racking, degassing, or barrel aging, free sulfite dissipates and/or becomes bound such that it becomes prudent to add more, depending on the level.

If you end up adding too much sulfite, at least you can reduce the free portion (not total[?]) by aerating. Of course you'd only do this when you're ready to bottle.

 

[kh54s10]

I have never used Campden tablets in the process of making my wine kits. I have only used what was provided in the kits. For red wines that I plan to age for a long time I do what was suggested in the instructions. "If aging in bottle past 6 months, we suggest adding an extra 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfide to your entire 23L (6 US GAL) batch. I believe it is the same thing as a Campden tablet. I do it to stabilize the wine and make it last longer.