Sulfides?

[Biscuits]

I am wondering what other options are out there in place of sulfides? My wife is a vegetarian and we would like to keep our wine as vegetarian/vegan as we can. What methods are there?

 

[Hoodweisen]

I stopped using sulfides because of the stank. But there is always a probality of losing batchs or blowing up bottles
If you make a big yeast starter before pitching yeast than you will most likely over power any wild yeasts
I make semisweet wines that i taste as they ferment ( I can do this because there is no sulfide too make you gag But there are still some out there that will stink)
when they reach the sweetness I want.
I cold crash them twice to drop out the yeast

 

[SteveHoward]

fwiw, sulfides are not the same thing as sulfites. They are both sulfur compounds, but they have different chemical properties and a different chemical makeup. Sulfates are yet another chemical family. The compounds I've seen suggested, and the potassium metabisulfite I've added are sulfites.

with either set of compounds, I'm not making the connection with vegetarianism or veganism, though. How are you concerned from that angle?

 

[WIP]

You can not really get away from sulfites in wine. They occur naturally in grapes. By adding it to wine, you are only increasing something that is already there. If you buy a wine in the store that says "no added sulfites" you are still getting the same amount. Instead of adding it to the wine itself, most of these wineries will measure the sulfite level in the grapes on the vine and increase it through the watering system if needed. I have even seen a winery spread the powder on the ground so the rain would wash it in.

 

[Yooper]

You can not really get away from sulfites in wine. They occur naturally in grapes. By adding it to wine, you are only increasing something that is already there. If you buy a wine in the store that says "no added sulfites" you are still getting the same amount. Instead of adding it to the wine itself, most of these wineries will measure the sulfite level in the grapes on the vine and increase it through the watering system if needed. I have even seen a winery spread the powder on the ground so the rain would wash it in.

Right. That's one of the things that really irritates me in commercial wines! They say things like "no sulfites!" on the label but sulfite is a natural byproduct of fermentation process. People who claim to be allergic to sulfites usually are wrong, as it's an incredibly rare allergy. IF someone really is allergic to sulfites, they can not drink "sulfite free wine" either, as there is no such thing. Red wine headaches are not caused by sulfites, even though many people believe they are.

But, there isn't anything non-vegan about sulfite anyway. Finings used to clear wines, like isinglass or gelatin, are NOT vegan free and shouldn't be used if that is a concern.

Sulfide is an entirely different compound, and isn't used in wine.

 

[gregbathurst]

You can make wine without sulfites. You just have to be very careful - no headspace in secondary, minimise racking and handling, keep the temperature cool and stable, bottle very carefully.

 

[WIP]

You can not make sulfite free wine. The vines themselves create sulfites to protect the grapes from bacteria. This means the grapes (before fermentation) have sulfites in them.

I think this is being blown way out of proportion. A single slice of white bread has more sulfites than any bottle of wine.

 

[Biscuits]

Hmm, very interesting. Okay, so sulfides aside then, what can I use in stead of the isinglass or gelatin?

 

[Yooper]

Hmm, very interesting. Okay, so sulfides aside then, what can I use in stead of the isinglass or gelatin?

You could use bentonite (clay), but really you don't need ANY finings. Almost every wine will clear on its own with some time. Sometimes all that is needed is to put it in a cool/cold place after fermentation is finished (called "cold stabilization") and the wine will drop clear. I never use finings in my wine, so that it's always vegetarian friendly.

 

[Biscuits]

I guess my only issue at this point is finding a cool/cold place to store it. I suppose through the winter I could use my garage...my only concern there would be rodents and insects.