meshachw
quality posts: 3
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This is a great and simple read. Thanks Kent!!!
KRWINE wrote:Hi
A question about SO2 is always interesting to answer.
Sulfur dioxide has been almost as integral to winemaking as are grapes for several thousand years now. In the last couple of decades its use has become (very) slightly controversial largely due to issues with SO2 use outside of the wine industry.
SO2 plays two vital rolls in winemaking. 1. It inhibits bacterial growth that can give wines off flavors (like acetic acid bacteria which produce vinegar) during the fermentation and storage period. 2. It scavenges oxygen from the wine both during aging and in the bottle.
The first of the two above reasons can be mitigated by paying close attention to sanitation in the cellar, by filtering and just generally by being compulsive. The ability of Sulfur Dioxide to scavenge up extra oxygen (wine’s great enemy) is vital to making fine wines, and no effective replacement has ever been found. To expand on this a bit-- After fermentation wine gets stored in barrels, tanks etc. During this period of storage the winemaker must make absolutely certain that all containers are absolutely full (to the tablespoon), but that said, it is almost impossible to do that---wine in tanks expands and contracts, wine in barrels evaporates thru the wood etc. Also, each time the wine is moved (racked) from one container to another it is almost impossible to avoid oxygen pickup. And, of course once the wine is in the bottle there is a slight amount of oxygen going thru the cork. What SO2 does is to pick up these miscellaneous molecules of oxygen and bind them so that they cannot hurt the flavor of the wine.
Sulfur Dioxide is a major mucous membrane irritant and some people are very allergic to it, however it would be only the rarest of people who are affected by the miniscule quantities that we use in the wine industry. (That said, if you are super-sensitive to SO2 you should be aware of wine and lots of other foods that contain some SO2.) The whole controversy to do with SO2 came about back in the 1970s when salad bars became popular. The problem was that restaurants washed their lettuce in water that had some SO2 in it to make the lettuce look fresh in the salad bar (same deal---oxygen is part of what makes lettuce look wilted). This in itself was not an issue---but the next step of putting acidic (vinegar etc.) salad dressing on the lettuce changed the pH of the environment and caused the relatively inoffensive SO2 in liquid form on the lettuce to suddenly flash off as a gas right into the face of the salad-eater. Thus, a little issue became a big problem—because if you are sensitive to SO2, a blast of it in your face is certain to get you. End of story is that SO2 use became a big issue----but it still has not been replaced in most of the food industry because is it still the best thing for its job (and after all it has been used in food processing since at least the Greek times, if not before). Nowdays we do understand the science of it better and make a huge effort to use the absolute minimum amount possible.
Sorry, long story. Let me finish by saying that yes, there are a few wineries around the world that make a business of making wines with no added SO2 (yeast actually do produce some SO2 naturally during fermentation). It is a huge amount of extra work to make wine this way—keeping all the air out of the wine, and the success is varied. I have had an occasional good red, but I have yet to have a white that was up to snuff. Problem is; all of the wines would have been much better with the tiniest amount of SO2.
Lastly, in general wines should have a “Free SO2” (at bottling) of about 32 parts per million or less and a “Total SO2” of less than about 150 ppm. There are legal limits, but they are much higher than this. “Free” is the active form of SO2 that is working to protect the wine from oxidation. “Bound SO2” is the formerly “Free” that has been bound up after doing its work of protection. “Total” is the sum of the two.
Enough on this topic.
Kent
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." - Ancient Chinese Proverb
"We are all born naked and screaming and if you're lucky that sort of thing won't stop there." -unknown
bhodilee
quality posts: 30
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Corrado wrote:...however, I get paid to recycle the carboard, but I pay to throw-away the uber-bulky styrofoam (which proceeds to loiter for quite some time in a landfill).
So then I'm the only one with a styrofoam fort in their basement? I use the cardboard inserts for windows. I'm gonna start a pirate ship next I think.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
– George Bernard Shaw, author (1856-1950)
bhodilee
quality posts: 30
Private Messages
beefytee wrote:I have a question about wine.woot in general. Are bottles always 750ml unless otherwise noted? Most of the bottles look like 1.5's to me.
Yes, 750's unless otherwise noted. It's a pretty rare occurrence to see magnums around here, though it does happen.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
– George Bernard Shaw, author (1856-1950)
JOATMON
quality posts: 19
Private Messages
Corrado wrote:...however, I get paid to recycle the carboard, but I pay to throw-away the uber-bulky styrofoam (which proceeds to loiter for quite some time in a landfill).
Here in San Jose, we can recycle styrofoam; styrofoam is allowed in our recycle bins.
Juvie: 30+24+4; Sellout: 6+7+0
Rags: 3+2+3
Drunk: 69+94+15 wine, 20+29+4 non-wine
Rugrat: 0+0+0; Refunded: 2+3+1
(as of 2011-03-02)
bhodilee
quality posts: 30
Private Messages
PetiteSirah wrote:Nah. What do you think HAK's "condo" and its "furniture" is made from?
well, it'd be well insulated. In fact concrete homes use styrofoam molds to set the concrete and act as insulation. Course it's an entirely different formulation, but still, it can be done.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
– George Bernard Shaw, author (1856-1950)
paryb
quality posts: 16
Private Messages
About the styrofoam packages, I have a pretty unique solution with these, I take all my boxes and inserts and ketchup packs to my buddy who has a local winery (Tularosa Vineyards, hi Chris!) and he then gives me wine. Best. Solution. Ever.
189 Bottles of wine from Woot so far!
$3319.36or a mere $17.56 per bottle.
wine.woot Keeping Paryb in the red(and sometimes white) since 5/9/2007
bhodilee
quality posts: 30
Private Messages
bkarney wrote:free the weasels! unfortunately, most of us can only be jealous of your arrangement!
Edit: hmm, another new filter - I can dig it
Though, free the weasels isn't exactly the wisest thing to say to drunk people ya know?
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
– George Bernard Shaw, author (1856-1950)
