Sanitizing question

The rule is that during fermentation, anything that may touch the wine must be sanitized with metabisulfite before and after touching the wine, whether it would be the hydrometer or a racking hose. My question is, what if I have to touch the wine with my fingers grabbing sample for the testing jar? Soap and water isn't sanitizing enough so do I let metabisulfite dry on my hands as I would with equipment? Under the finger nails is hard to clean and is there most pathogens hide.

Try using a sanitized tool, such as a wine thief or turkey baster to take samples.

The rule is that during fermentation, anything that may touch the wine must be sanitized with metabisulfite before and after touching the wine, whether it would be the hydrometer or a racking hose.

That rule sounds way to extreme to me. Is it your rule? Or is it a rule of the winery that you work at?

It's a good rule to follow, if you don't want the fermentation contaminated by unwanted bacteria or yeasts.

Of course it's not absolutely necessary. In the olden days winemakers used to strip off and stand naked in the vats while they pushed down the cap during fermentation. Of course in the olden days some vats used to go very VERY bad.

What Howie said about using a sanitized wine thief or turkey baster or ladle or whatever to take samples.

-Paul W.

Pathogens don't really survive in wine (it's quite an acidic, alcoholic solution) so you don't need to worry about them. There are always bugs (bacteria and yeast) about, so while it is a good idea to sterilize any equipment that's been in contact with an unwanted infection (e.g. Acetobacter, Brettanomyces) the reality is that it's actually unneccessarily cautious to be sterilizing every piece of equipment you use every time you use it (you can if you want to be ultra safe, but it's not really necessary). Metabisulphite is not something you want to put on your hands - don't do it! If you are really worried, wear gloves and sterilize them. Of course it's sensible to sterilize equipment (as mentioned) but healthy winemaking is more about ensuring that the unwanted bugs can't get a hold by making the wine environment unpleasant for them to live in (through suitable pH levels, low O2 exposure, SO2 presence, etc). If you keep your equipment clean and take the necessary steps to reduce unwanted bugs taking hold you shouldn't have any problems.