> This has probably been asked a million times, so here is 1,000,001
> times. When sulphiting bottles, should I rinse them with water or
> leave some of the bisulphite solution in them? (dumping it out of
> course)
> Someone told me you should never use Sparkle Brite to sterilize the
> bottles prior to bottling the wine because it is difficult to get it
> all out, even with rinsing. What is the proper procedure for bottling?
> Jim
granite. Many bottlers believe it is best to sulfite and then rinse with water and let
dry. Others believe it is best to sulfite, turn the bottles over to drain and then fill
them with wine before they dry.
It is definitely good sense to wash your bottles soon after use and then drain them up
side down until dry. This restricts all the nasties from a source of solid waste matter
and/or the H20 to begin breeding.
At bottling time, you need to ask yourself if rinsing the bottles out with water after
sulfiting is going to reintroduce any nasties or chlorine into your bottles?. Is the
drying time going to allow airborn nasties into the bottle? On the other side of the
coin....is leaving an amount of sulfite in the bottle going to increase the levels beyond
what you want?
My procedure is to clean the bottles thoroughly (Even though they are already stored
clean). Then the bottles can be rinsed in half a pint of cold water in which a Campden
tablet and quarter teaspoonful of citric acid has been dissolved. This solution will
adequately sterilize the bottles, pouring it from one into the other,
shaking each bottle as you do so. tip the bottles over and drain. Fill the bottles before
they dry. Seal with corks which have been soaked for 1/2 hour in the same solution. I
don't believe the extra sulfite added by this procedure is of any consequence.
Bryan Casper