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sulfide in wine


portlyfella

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I am distilling wine. The heads were overpowering with the smell of sulfides. I added Hydrogen peroxide 35% 600ml for 60 gallons of wine. I increased the hydrogen peroxide to 1200ml and then 2000ml. Still smells like sulfides..How do I get rid of the sulfides?

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Watch your oxidation state. For sulfide, you treat with copper sulfate. That works for ethyl mercaptan, too. If it's gone beyond that to the disulfide, you need to treat with ascorbic acid, then the copper sulfate.

Hydrogen peroxide is to remove sulfi_t_e. Different number of electrons.

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Watch your oxidation state. For sulfide, you treat with copper sulfate. That works for ethyl mercaptan, too. If it's gone beyond that to the disulfide, you need to treat with ascorbic acid, then the copper sulfate.

Hydrogen peroxide is to remove sulfi_t_e. Different number of electrons.

copper. could use a copper catalyst before distillation, or as part of distillation. former would reduce using up copper in the boiler and column.

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I am distilling wine. The heads were overpowering with the smell of sulfides. I added Hydrogen peroxide 35% 600ml for 60 gallons of wine. I increased the hydrogen peroxide to 1200ml and then 2000ml. Still smells like sulfides..How do I get rid of the sulfides?

I don't know whether our experience will be exactly applicable. We're distilling cider and have had to work with sulfited cider to start. Often get nasty smell (burns your nose) throughout heads and even well into hearts.

After some panic, we have tried aerating with good success. Even whisking repeatedly in a large pan over a couple days lets the bad stuff gas off, and we've also used an acquarium bubbler to do it in carboys.

Hawk

San Juan Island DIstillery

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I hope that i understand what you got and what you are trying to do. But let me tell you what this old winemaker knows, after 50 years of being in the business. You would never want to distill any wine that has got a significant level of SO2 the results can be unbearable. However, if you want to distill wine that has a moderate amount of SO2 what you should do, before you do anything, you should run an SO2 test and test the wine for free and total SO2(bounded). The next thing you would want to do is treat this wine with Hydrogen Peroxcide hoping to remove most of the sulfites out, personally I wouldnt do it, but at this time I would take another SO2 test to see what exactly what I have. Once that wine is free of SO2 then I'd go ahead and start my distillation, you'll find that you have to remove quite a generous head to get a half decent heart. Sometimes its better, and I would never be afraid of distilling wine that is a little oxidized versus a wine that has a high amount of sulfites. At least if it is oxidized you know the sulfite is gone. Good luck and I hope this has helped you out.

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Does it smell like burning sulfur, or rotten eggs?

According to Andrew Waterhouse at UC Davis, about 300ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide is enough to remove the sulfites from 60 gallons of wine, assuming a typical concentration of around 80mg/l.

The semi-good news is that you are getting rid of the sulphite; it comes off during distillation in the form of sulfur dioxide gas (as opposed to vapor). The reason the smell is so strong is that it's not condensing into the distillate as a vapor would, but coming out of the spout as a gas.

As mentioned above, agitation can help remove the gas prior to distilling.

Make sure you've got really good ventilation.

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copper. could use a copper catalyst before distillation, or as part of distillation. former would reduce using up copper in the boiler and column.

Portyfella, I am guessing here but I assume you are running only a small amount because you are using sulphide'd wine, I also guess you are using a still made from stainless. As Bluestar says above, a copper still should get rid of the taste/smell. It may use up a bit of copper from your still but if you are only doing small amounts it may be the simplest cure.

If your still is all stainless you may need to go one of the chemical options.

I know some of the small backyarders put copper wool in their columns. Someone else may be able to comment here, what if you put a big ball of copper wool in the boiler pot?

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  • 2 weeks later...

My still is 100% copper, and trust me, I need to open the place up when I'm distilling sulfited wine. I'll have to try the peroxide and see if it helps.

Just remember it will attack the still copper pretty hard. But a mild acid/peroxide wash will have it back to sparkly new. Just do not do it over and over, or your still will become a giant collander. LOL

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  • 1 year later...

I want to bump up this old thread. I'm making grappa and got some skins that had more sulphide(ite?) than I knew. The distillation seemed fine as it came off the still but a day later, the nose is overwhelmingly rotten eggs. I have a copper still so there was plenty of copper contact. I'll be using some citric acid before my next run just to be sure. If I'm reading this thread right, these solutions are all to avoid the problem by treating the wash. Any hope for treatment after the fact in distillate? Also, I collected tails from this distillation. Anything I can do to the tails before I redistill to avoid the problem?

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GusmerCellulo used to make 'SRM' filter sheets that removed sulfide (from wine) like a miracle. Alas, they don't make them any more.

You might try fining with Lallemand Reduless. Copper-bearing yeast hulls.

Just guesses, though. I haven't experience sulfide in spirits myself.

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