Soon I will start making my first batch of red wine made from grapes (must actually). I've did some research, online and reading the book Modern Home Winemaking, by Daniel Pambianchi. One thing that is not really clear is how/if to use sulfites, in particular how to measure free sulfites. I know why sulfites are used in wine and I can understand the importance of them on a commercial scale, but does the average joe home winemaker use them? I don’t think every home wine maker has a semi-lab and working with strong acids/alkaline solutions to do an aeration test?
The book more or less states it is really important to dose the correct amount of sulfite and you can only do so by measuring how much to add. On the other hand, some online sources just seem to free ball it, a tablespoon of potassium metabisulfite here and there. Too much sulfite isn’t really good for your health right? Or am I overcomplicating things and isn’t it that important all together? There are a lot of wines made without the use of sulfites, are those stable enough to age them for a couple of years?
So to summarise: is sulfite used in home wine making, and if so, how to dose it? If not, is the wine stable enough to store it for a while?
The book more or less states it is really important to dose the correct amount of sulfite and you can only do so by measuring how much to add. On the other hand, some online sources just seem to free ball it, a tablespoon of potassium metabisulfite here and there. Too much sulfite isn’t really good for your health right? Or am I overcomplicating things and isn’t it that important all together? There are a lot of wines made without the use of sulfites, are those stable enough to age them for a couple of years?
So to summarise: is sulfite used in home wine making, and if so, how to dose it? If not, is the wine stable enough to store it for a while?