Racking with copper - is it safe??

[JaboJabo]

Hi guys!

I am a first-timer making 3 gallons of a cab sav / aglianico blend.

I started with fresh grapes and everything has been going great until I got to the first racking when I was hit with an epic egg smell. After some research I learned that it was due to hydrogen sulfide (H2S).

After more googling, my remedy was to rack the wine through a copper pipe aggressively (lots of splashing/stirring). Amazingly it removed the smell and the wine tastes great!

My concern however is that while I was stirring with the copper pipe i noticed a distinct oil-slick-looking shine coming off of the pipe and into the wine. I'm not sure if this is a normal reaction from the copper or if the pipe wasn't clean enough and something was coming off of it. I sterilized the pipe beforehand, but I bought it from a hardware store and maybe I didn't clean thoroughly enough...

Naturally I am fearing the worst - ideally I'd like to be able to drink the wine without fearing my life each sip. Has anyone ever racked with copper and seen this reaction? The shininess looked reminiscent of the surface of bubble solution, or oil or something.

Thanks!
Joe

 

[MaxStout]

The acidity of the wine is simply removing the thin oxide layer off the copper. In those quantities it won't hurt anything. Keep in mind that thousands of breweries and distilleries use copper equipment in their processes. Not to mention the many people who cook with copper pots and pans...

RDWHAHB

 

[CGish]

Did you clean and sanitize the copper pipe before you used it?

If so, what did you use for cleaning and sanitization?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I would recommend avoiding using copper unless it is absolutely necessary, the splash racking probably would have done the trick without using the copper. My guess is that there was a lot of head space in the fermenter or the carboy that you used.
The fact that you have an "oil slick" in your wine would be enough for me to dump the wine, the fact that this was released into the wine has me concerned, I brew beer and use a copper immersion chiller and have never seen any oil slick, but then again, I've never put it through the copper.
There are copper products made specifically to fix the issue that you had, that do not exceed the recommended /allowed amount by the FDA.