Did I get duped?

[arcsum68]

Went to LHBS and picked up some campden tablets, but he also talked me into buying some metabasulphite tritrets ($16) so I could test it before I added them.

Is that neccessary?

I cannot find anything about them on this forum, they dont seem very popular.

He said if its high enough (50 ppm I think), that I shouldnt add any and just rack away.

 

[summersolstice]

Went to LHBS and picked up some campden tablets, but he also talked me into buying some metabasulphite tritrets ($16) so I could test it before I added them.

Is that neccessary?

I cannot find anything about them on this forum, they dont seem very popular.

He said if its high enough (50 ppm I think), that I shouldnt add any and just rack away.

Free SO2 testing is for the true geek. This ventures well into "Advanced Winemaking" territory. Maybe I'm lazy or maybe I don't care enough about my hobby to want the best but I've been making wine for several years and I've never tested for SO2. I make wine for fun and free SO2 testing requires more work than I'm willing to invest.

 

[etp777]

In theory, for best wine, it's something you can/should do. But yeah, I dodn't know of many people who do it. I tend to stick to the campden every other racking method.

 

[Texron]

What if you are bulk aging. Do you add campden tablets periodically?

How often?

Doesn't the SO2 degrade over time?

 

[etp777]

the SO2 does evaporate out, yes. But being under airlock, in a properly filled carboy with minimal headspace/ullage, there's no oxygen to get into the wine. But yes, does periodically need to be added. I dissolve it into some wine and rack into the new carboy. I've never aged anything over 9 months or so though, others may have beter input.