I presume Sodium metabisulphite is fairly harmless but wouldn't qualify
as organic. What would organic wine-makers use to sterilise their
equipment?

Janet G

Fairly harmless??

Not according to the chemical industry.

SAFETY DATA SHEET
SODIUM METABISULPHITE Page 1

Whoa everyone...
Sodium MetabisulphIte (with an "I") may be nasty but the chemical put in
wine is Sodium MetabisulphAte ("A").
Different chemical.

"David (in Normandy)" wrote in message
...
I presume Sodium metabisulphite is fairly harmless but wouldn't qualify
as organic. What would organic wine-makers use to sterilise their
equipment?

Janet G

Fairly harmless??

Not according to the chemical industry.

SAFETY DATA SHEET
SODIUM METABISULPHITE Page 1

Whoa everyone...
Sodium MetabisulphIte (with an "I") may be nasty but the chemical put in
wine is Sodium MetabisulphAte ("A").
Different chemical.
Sodium metabisulph ITE is the material used for sterilising the wine
equipment etc. and does end up in the wine.
Sodium metabisul ATE is a highly acid substance and is akin to solid
sulphuric acid and is nasty if you eat it. It's the main constituent of some
solid toilet cleaners.
I can guess that the French shove the latter in their wine.

Sodium metabisul ATE is a highly acid substance and is akin to solid
sulphuric acid and is nasty if you eat it. It's the main constituent of
some solid toilet cleaners.
I can guess that the French shove the latter in their wine.


Only if they run out of anti-freeze :-)

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006, David (in Normandy) wrote:

Sodium metabisul ATE is a highly acid substance and is akin to solid
sulphuric acid and is nasty if you eat it. It's the main constituent of
some solid toilet cleaners.
I can guess that the French shove the latter in their wine.


Only if they run out of anti-freeze :-)

Antifreeze was used in a highly publicised case more than twenty years
ago by a combine just outside Rust on the Neusiedler See in Austria in
order to sweeten the wine. The local small wine growers were outraged by
this and put up posters saying that their wine was good and did NOT
contain antifreeze. I still have one of these posters somewhere.

The net result of this was that Austrian wine was not imported to the UK
(and several other countries) for years afterwards which was a great
pity as they have some great wines which are totally different to any
others. Even a grape like Müller-Thurgau produces a very sweet wine in
Austria and quite different to that produced by the same grape in, for
instance, the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area of Germany. Also they have their own
grape varieties not found elsewhere such as Grüner Veldliner and
Welschriesling (which, in spite of the name, is not a Riesling at all).

David

--
David Rance http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France

David Rance wrote:
[...]
Antifreeze was used in a highly publicised case more than twenty years
ago by a combine just outside Rust on the Neusiedler See in Austria in
order to sweeten the wine. The local small wine growers were outraged by
this and put up posters saying that their wine was good and did NOT
contain antifreeze. I still have one of these posters somewhere.
[...]

Ridiculous fuss over a perfectly reasonable little mistake! Why, only
last winter I put glycerol in the car radiator. Worked as sweet as a
nut.

--
Mike.

On 9 Aug 2006 05:27:31 -0700, "Mike Lyle"
wrote:
David Rance wrote:
[...]
Antifreeze was used in a highly publicised case more than twenty years
ago by a combine just outside Rust on the Neusiedler See in Austria in
order to sweeten the wine. The local small wine growers were outraged by
this and put up posters saying that their wine was good and did NOT
contain antifreeze. I still have one of these posters somewhere.
[...]

Ridiculous fuss over a perfectly reasonable little mistake! Why, only
last winter I put glycerol in the car radiator.
Worked as sweet as a nut.

The most important nut in the car is the one holding the steering
wheel

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006, Rupert (W.Yorkshire) wrote:

Whoa everyone...
Sodium MetabisulphIte (with an "I") may be nasty but the chemical put in
wine is Sodium MetabisulphAte ("A").
Different chemical.
Sodium metabisulph ITE is the material used for sterilising the wine
equipment etc. and does end up in the wine.
Sodium metabisul ATE is a highly acid substance and is akin to solid
sulphuric acid and is nasty if you eat it. It's the main constituent of some
solid toilet cleaners.

I can guess that the French shove the latter in their wine.

They don't.

David

--
David Rance http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006, David (in Normandy) wrote:

I presume Sodium metabisulphite is fairly harmless but wouldn't qualify
as organic. What would organic wine-makers use to sterilise their
equipment?

Janet G

Fairly harmless??

Not according to the chemical industry.

SAFETY DATA SHEET
SODIUM METABISULPHITE Page 1

Whoa everyone...
Sodium MetabisulphIte (with an "I") may be nasty but the chemical put in
wine is Sodium MetabisulphAte ("A").
Different chemical.

Sorry, no! It is sodium metabisulphite. I have some here sold by Boots
for wine-making purposes and metabisulphite is what is on the label.
Crazy Horse is right about its effects but that is only when it is
concentrated. Obviously people would have to treat it with care.

As mentioned earlier, wine-makers burn sulphur in casks to sterilise
them. If you breathed in the fumes then you would suffer the same
symptoms that Crazy Horse describes.

I was always taught the use sodium metabisulphite with care by my father
as it is used in a fixing bath for black and white photography.

David

--
David Rance http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France