What are those packages for?
January, 2019 Filed in: Wine making
With the change to a single package of potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate we thought we should mention what these 2 products are used for.
Potassium metabisulphite has two very different purposes in wine making. It is a preservative, in that it will bind with oxygen molecules and therefore prevent free oxygen from oxidizing your wine. Some term it a scavenger of oxygen. Oxidized wines have a distinct “tinny” taste and while not harmful it is not a pleasant taste. The second purpose of potassium metabisulphite is to kill any bacteria and wild yeasts that could destroy your wine.
Potassium sorbate stops yeast from making more yeast. If you think back to high school biology you will remember cell division. Potassium sorbate stops or prevents cell division. Think of it as birth control for yeast. Some people might say it used to “kill the yeast”. This is not true as nothing that you could use to “kill” yeast would be harmful to consume. The yeast is not killed rather it can’t produce anymore yeast.
Whatever you do, always use potassium metabisulphite in your wine or it can be quickly oxidized. It is really harmless, and does no give you headaches, but that is for another discussion.
Potassium metabisulphite has two very different purposes in wine making. It is a preservative, in that it will bind with oxygen molecules and therefore prevent free oxygen from oxidizing your wine. Some term it a scavenger of oxygen. Oxidized wines have a distinct “tinny” taste and while not harmful it is not a pleasant taste. The second purpose of potassium metabisulphite is to kill any bacteria and wild yeasts that could destroy your wine.
Potassium sorbate stops yeast from making more yeast. If you think back to high school biology you will remember cell division. Potassium sorbate stops or prevents cell division. Think of it as birth control for yeast. Some people might say it used to “kill the yeast”. This is not true as nothing that you could use to “kill” yeast would be harmful to consume. The yeast is not killed rather it can’t produce anymore yeast.
Whatever you do, always use potassium metabisulphite in your wine or it can be quickly oxidized. It is really harmless, and does no give you headaches, but that is for another discussion.