February 2009
February Meeting Reminder
February 17, 2009 - 11:48pm — jdlThe February meeting of the CTWG will be at Jordan & Lyn's on the 22nd at 2:00pm.
We will talk about SO2, probably in large doses, er, excruciating detail! We will also have our new Hanna SO2 mini-titrator. If you would like to have the free or total SO2 tested on a wine sample of yours, let Jordan know and bring 50ml (or a bit more) and $2 per test.
SO2 Addition Advice
February 16, 2009 - 1:00am — jdlOne thing to mention: you cannot tell how much SO2 will bind when making an addition based on current bound SO2. As SO2 does it's thing (binds up oxygen) the bound SO2 will continue to increase over time even if you keep the free SO2 at the same level. This is why you need to add SO2 more than
once to your wine. It would be great if we could add SO2 at the beginning and never have to worry about it again, but the ratio of bound SO2 to free SO2 changes.
Introduction to SO2 in Winemaking
February 14, 2009 - 1:00am — jdlSO2 is a gas with a nasty, pungent sulfur smell. It is soluble in water, and has potent antimicrobial properties. Additionally, it has important antioxidant effects (it reacts with acetaldehyde, and it inhibits some enzymes that lead to browning of wines, although at the pH associated with wine, SO2 doesn’t actually do much binding with oxygen directly). Appropriate additions of SO2 (correct quantity, correct timing) can inhibit the growth of spoilage organisms, help prevent oxidation, and actually reverse some of the problems with oxidation if already present.
Making SO2 Adjustments
February 1, 2009 - 1:00am — jdlSo, if we're going to do SO2 measurements, let's assume that we want to *do* something as a result of the new information!
I am in the middle of a round of my Free SO2 measurements here on the two batches that I started 9 months ago. Both my Malbec and Carmenere were pretty darn low a month or two ago. So I'm bumping up their levels some.
Naturally, large portions of my additions are immediately becoming bound. That means I'm not getting the protection level I want yet, and am having to re-check after a small wait.
