"glad heart" > wrote in message
om...
> Is there any practical difference between sodium and potassium
> metabisulfite?
>
> I've been using the sodium variety because I was given a couple
> buckets of it. In my reading I never ever see reference to Na, only
> K.

Either will work about the same in the small amounts required for wine
stability, but there are a couple of factors to consider:

(1) The industry standard is potassium metabisulfite. The excess
potassium, although small, can be chilled out of the wine as bitartrate.
(2) It is very important to get your meta(bisulfite) FRESH! The stuff is
reactive as hell, and degrades rapidly with air exposure to sulfate. It
looks the same, but it's dead as a doornail.

Tom S