Campden Tablets

[jake47]

I allways used to use the above when i made wine some years ago ,but when i restarted earlier in the year the guy in the homebrew shop said no you dont need campden tablets "i " never use them and they can give the product a chemical taste and are unnecessary.So as yet i havent used them ,now ime about to put into demi jons 3 more ferments should i use them and is it worth putting campden tablets in wine thats on its third racking?What do you think.

[DAVID]

You don't mention wether youv'e added Campden on the two previous rackings ??

[jake47]

No David i havent added any campden tablets to those either on the previous rackings.

[DAVID]

On that basis I would certainly add one crushed campden tablet per gallon.

[jake47]

Thanks will do .

[Hippie]

Jake, all wine contains sulphite in varying amounts wheter we add it or not. It is a natural byproduct of fermentation. Depending on what your must is made with, you can get by without adding sulphite then, but when the wine is finished fermenting, using sulphite in the stabilizing routine can make or break the wine when it comes to long term aging. When making wine from fresh fruits, I always add sulphite to the must just in case there are wild yeast or spoilage bacteria that needs suppressing so that when I introduce the yeast starter it has a better chance of being the lone factor in fermenting that fruit to dryness without worrying over chances of having nasty stuff happen such as vinegar or mycodeerma, etc. If making wine from store bought juice or frozen concentrates, I usually forgo the addition of sulphite to the must, because I figure the chance of wild yeast or bacteria surviving the processing is slim. I always use sulphite when stabilizing. I hope this helps.

[jake47]

Ok thanks for that Hippie so would you advise me,ime just about to transfer two batches of wine from 2 fermenters(been in just over a week) into demijons with locks on ,should i wait until fermentation is nearly complete or would it be ok to add the campden tablets and then transfer them.Ive allready added the tablets to two earlier ones on their third racking (which have stopped fermenting) .Will it not stop the wine fermenting if i add now,ime a bit confused ,sorry.

[jake47]

Addition to the above after reading your post again, i think i understand you now ,that its best to add the campden tablets to kill of natural yeast first and then add our own yeast prior to fermentation and then after the fermentation has taken place i could add another campden tablet to protect the wine from bacteria etc.

[Hippie]

In the beginning, when preparing must, 1 campden tablet per gallon is added to fend off competing wild yeast and spoilage organisms.

After wine is finished fermenting, 1 campden tablet per gallon is added to stabilize the wine (in conjunction with potassium sorbate if left sweet or sweetening up) and as an antioxidant to help preserve the wine.

Some folks use a test kit to determine amount of sulphite in the wine and keep a set amount in throughout fermentation and another set amount after fermentation.