Campden tablets

[MKG]

Hi luvraspberry - lovely signature photo.

But I have to take issue with this ...

"And I heard the same thing from the wine dealer...in most European countries they don't use or add sulphites while making the wine which is why you had no problem in those countries."

It's amazing how many wine dealers will tell you this, no matter where you live in the world. It simply isn't true. The vast majority of commercial winemakers in most European countries DO use the stuff - but most of the world outside Europe doesn't have the same regulatory requirements on the declaration of content. So - the point I made above - just because it ain't on the label doesn't mean it was never added. But "added" and "present" are not the same thing.

What may be there - because any added metabisulphite, no matter where in the world you are, has long since been transformed into other things - is sulphur dioxide in solution. Here lies the old tradition of opening a bottle of wine and allowing it to "breathe". It doesn't do any such thing, but it does allow time for the sulphur dioxide to dissipate.

Mike

Oh - historical sulphite use. The Greeks and Romans didn't use it, but they drank a lot of sour wine - and didn't use wooden barrels for wine storage or transport. As the Medieval period advanced, the practice of burning sulphur candles within wooden wine casks became widespread. This impregnated the casks - and so the ensuing contents - with sulphur dioxide.

[TheWineBrewer]

I got a great video on using potassium metabisulfate to replace campden tablets here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CayBv64erfs

[MKG]

Hi, TWB and welcome to the forum. Thanks for the informative video, too.

However, just a quick word of warning for those who may misinterpret what you're saying - using the metabisulphite of potassium rather than sodium does nothing to help you if you really are sensitive to sulphites in wine, because they'll be present in exactly the same quantities and will produce the sulphur dioxide which appears to be the culprit in adverse reactions.

Is that your own video? If so, a double welcome as we seem to have lost our southern hemisphere brewers and winemakers.

Mike