Wines and SpiritsDon't Whine Over Bad Wine!
When I first began learning how to make wine, I had to pour a five gallon batch down the drain. It was a nauseating feeling thinking about the time, work and effort - going down the drain. I resolved right then that I"d learn more about preventing my wines from being ruined and promised myself that always I would correctly and effectively sanitize my equipment and area.
There are a few different chemicals and solutions used in home winemaking to sanitize their equipment. One of the oldest and still probably the easiest and best use: Sulfites. There are two different types of sulfite that winemakers use. The are Potassium Metabisulfite and Sodium Metabisulfite. There is no difference in effectiveness of these chemicals, but Potassium Metabisulfite is the preferred additive to wine to prevent oxygenation.
For sanitizing purposes, mix three tablespoons of Potassium Metabisulfite into a gallon of warm water. Stir well. This will provide you with a very effective sanitizing solution. It won"t kill all bacteria, but we aren"t interested in sterilizing our equipment and work area. What we want is to control bacteria and wild yeast which is what sanitizing does.
Storage of your sulfite/water solution is important. The sulfites create a gas which can evaporate quite quickly, leaving you with very little sanitation power in your solution. I keep my solution in a one gallon jug with a tight fitting screw cap lid. For convenience in cleaning the sides of my fermentation vessels, spoons, and air locks, I keep a spray bottle filled with sulfite and water solution and use that to spray the solution onto the surfaces I want to sanitize. For best results, leave the solution on the surfaces for five minutes before rinsing with clean water.
Sometimes, you might find some recommendation (especially in older winemaking guides) to use chlorine bleach as a sanitizer. Never use chlorine around any of your home winemaking or brewing equipment! It can be very difficult to completely rinse off, and may also lead to "cork taint" of your wine if there is just enough bleach residue that comes in contact with your wine.
There are other solutions and compounds that are available for use as a sanitizer to the home winemaker, but if you"re going to make lots of wine, you"ll probably need to purchase Potassium Metabisulfite in one pound packages. You may as well just use the sulfite as both your wine protectant and sanitizer.
One precaution: Potassium Metabisulfite can lose its effectiveness over time. Replace your supply every year to assure yourself of sanitized conditions and wines that won"t spoil.
Since using sulfite exclusively as my sanitizing agent, I"ve yet to lose a batch of wine. If you consistently sanitize your equipment and work area with a sulfite solution, you"ll reduce the chances of making spoiled wine.