Campden - exactly how importaint is it??

[Madame Mucksprout]

Hi,

I made aprox 6 demijons of wine last autum, One of which is Rosehip - it is excellent (even if I do say so myself ).

I bottled it - and now its s at in the dark awaiting a special occaion to be drunk.

My concern now is Campden tablets - I didnt use one (as I was certain the fermentation had stopped - and I was under the impression this was all they were for?) but now I have heard that If dont use them my wine may go "off" in the bottles?

Is this true? - should I uncork and pour all my wine back into a demijon and add the campden? If this is the case, do I need to wait for the campden to do its bit then re-bottle? How long is this?

Will the addition of campden change the flavour - as its the only one of the 3 Ive bottled that I actually like.

Any suggestions greatfully recieved.

[Hilary B]

I've had wines that didn't work, but never a failure after bottling. I've never added a Campden tablet to any wine I've made.
I used to use Sodium Metabisulphate (the active ingredient in Campden tablets) to sterilise equipment (including the bottles just before bottling) but I stopped doing that some time ago now. I just wash everything very thoroughly in the hottest water available, and make sure it is air-dried to FULLY dry before using.

[Madame Mucksprout]

Thankyou Hilary - its a bit of a minefield this wine business, and Id hate to "undo" half a years work because of something so small.
All my equipment has been sterilised just before use with Milton Baby steriliser so Im quite certain the only things in it are the rosehips/sugar and yeast.

Im interested to see if anyone has had a problem with wine going off once securley bottled and corked. If not then it may just be a falacy (I hope) and the campden unessecary.

[rana]

I've made wine for many years and originally used campden tablets as reccommended at all stages. While this stopped any secondary fermentation in the bottle I found it imparted a sulphurous odour to the resulting wine. I therefore ceased using them. I now use sodium metabisulphate as a sterilising solution, then like Hilary B, use very hot (just off boiling) water as a final wash for all glasswear. If the wine has been adequately racked and all glasswear is sterilised as above you should be rewarded with good clean wine.

If your rosehip wine tastes good now I wouldn't mess about with it, just drink and enjoy.

[Moridin]

Camden Tabs are great for killing yeast or nutralising Chloramine. They are no good as a steriliser or sanitister. The best for that is either boiling water, a mild bleach solution or Videne/Idophor for a no rinse alternative.