# Potassium Sorbate and its use in wine making



## Wade E (Feb 1, 2009)

For those of you who dont know this there are more reasons for using sorbate then just to make sure your wine doesnt start fermenting again in the bottle after sweetening a wine. There are reasons to use it even if you havent sweeten your wine. Here is an article copied from Wikipedia for you to help understand this a little better. I know Masta posted something like this quite awhile ago but sometimes stuff gets forgotton and there are many new winemakers who could benefit from this.

<h1 id="firsting" ="firsting">Potassium sorbate</h1>

<h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3>

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<td>IUPAC name</td>
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<div style="overflow: auto; width: 100%;">Potassium (2_E_,4_E_)-hexa-2,4-dienoate


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<td>Other names</td>
<td>E202

Sorbistat-K

Sorbistat potassium</td>
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<td ="">CAS number</td>
<td ="">24634-61-5</td>
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<td>PubChem</td>
<td>23676745</span></td>
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<td>SMILES</td>
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<div style="overflow: auto; width: 100%;"><tt>C\C=C\C=C\C(=O)[O-].[K+]</tt>


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<th style=": rgb(248, 234, 186) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz--clip: -moz-initial; -moz--origin: -moz-initial; -moz--inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: center;" colspan="2">Properties</th>
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<td>Molecular formula</td>
<td>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>7</sub>KO<sub>2</sub></td>
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<td>Molar mass</td>
<td>150.22 g/mol</td>
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<td>Density</td>
<td>1.363 g/cm<sup>3</sup></td>
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<td>Melting point</td>
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270 °C (decomposition)
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<td>Solubility in water</td>
<td>58.2% at 20 °C</td>
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materials in their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_state" target="_blank">standard state

(at 25°C, 100kPa)</a>

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*Potassium sorbate* is the potassium salt of sorbic acid. Its primary use is as a food preservative (E number 202). Potassium sorbate is effective in a variety of applications including food, wine, and personal care.
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<ul><li ="toclevel-1">1</span> Chemistry</span><li ="toclevel-1">2</span> Use</span><li ="toclevel-1">3</span> Toxicology</span><li ="toclevel-1">4</span> See also</span><li ="toclevel-1">5</span> References</span>[/list]
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<a name="Chemistry" id="Chemistry"></a>
<h2>[edit]</span> Chemistry</span></h2>


The molecular formula of potassium sorbate is C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>7</sub>O<sub>2</sub>K and its systematic name is potassium (_E_,_E_)-hexa-2,4-dienoate. Its has a molecular weight of 150.22 g/mol. It is very soluble in water (58.2% at 20 °C). It is prepared by the reaction of sorbic acid with potassium hydroxide.


<a name="Use" id="Use"></a>
<h2>[edit]</span> Use</span></h2>


Potassium sorbate is used to inhibit molds and yeasts in many foods, such as cheese, wine, yogurt, dried meats, apple cider and baked goods. It can also be found in the ingredients list of many dried fruit
products. In addition, herbal dietary supplement products generally
contain potassium sorbate, which acts to prevent mold and microbes and
to increase shelf life, and is used in quantities at which there are no
known adverse health effects.<sup ="noprint Template-Fact">[_citation needed_]</span></sup> Labeling of this preservative reads as "potassium sorbate" on the ingredient statement. Also, it is used in many personal care products to inhibit the development of microorganisms for shelf stability. Some manufacturers are using this preservative as a replacement for parabens.


Also known affectionately as "wine stabilizer", potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation
has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing,
potassium sorbate will render any surviving yeast incapable of
multiplying. Yeast living at that moment can continue fermenting any
residual sugar into CO<sub>2</sub> and alcohol,
but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future
fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium
sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with
potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines, and some hard ciders but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.


Some molds (notably some _Trichoderma_ and _Penicillium_ strains) and yeasts are able to detoxify sorbates by decarboxylation, producing 1,3-pentadiene. The pentadiene manifests as a typical odor of kerosene or petroleum.<sup id="cite_ref-2" ="reference">[</span>3]</span></sup>


<a name="Toxicology" id="Toxicology"></a>
<h2>[edit]</span> Toxicology</span></h2>


Potassium sorbate is considered to be safe because of its long term
safety record and non-toxic profile. Potassium sorbate is
non-irritating and non-sensitizing. Allergic reactions are rare<sup ="noprint Template-Fact">[_citation needed_]</span></sup> and it is well tolerated when administered internally.<sup id="cite_ref-3" ="reference">[</span>4]</span></sup>


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## mjdtexan (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks, I like stuff like that.


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## Wade E (Feb 23, 2009)

I just read the words, that other stuff is way out of my league!


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## Waldo (Feb 24, 2009)

I like the "Smiles"


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## termini (Mar 11, 2009)

Maybe you guys can help me with what I think is a Potass. Sorbate problem...
I tried making homade plum wine, and halfway thru fermenting, I added more sugar to boost more alcohol to make it like a Japanese plum wine.
After it stopped fermenting,I let it clear quite a while, and then added more plum juice with sugar to backsweeten it, along with the required amount of K-Meta and Potass. Sorbate.
it was fine in the carboy for quite awhile, and then I noticed tiny bubbles coming up the sides!
I added more Potass. Sorbate and it seemed to react by foaming a little!
It now has an *effervesant* kick to it!
My buddy thinks that I may have "Bad" Potass. sorbate---could this be true?
Is there a way I can garauntee stopping this, racking off the lees to another carboy and possibly degassing this batch?


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## grapeman (Mar 12, 2009)

It sounds like you didn't have quite high enough k-meta in the wine. How much total have you added and better yet, how much free S02 from a test do you have? If there are tiny bubbles, it might be a malolactic fermentation going on- which is a bacteria that acts like yeast. A good sign of it happening is a small ring of bubbles at the top with tiny bubbles rising up the sides. Inadequate levels of free S02 allows MLF to commence and sorbate may not stop it from starting since it is a bacteria not a yeast.Did you initially add enough k-meta to the plums to kill all the yeast and bacteria?


It could also just be that there was a lot of gas still in this wine and when you added more sorbate it can cause some of this to be released out. Normally it will just foam a bit and go away.


I would give this another good dose of k-meta and hope for the best.


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## Bert (Mar 12, 2009)

Check your SG. and give the wine a few days and check it again...To see if it stillfermenting...This may help to tell what is happening with the wine....Good Luck


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## PeterZ (Mar 12, 2009)

Did you rack off the lees? Remember, k-sorbate does not kill yeast or stop fermentation, it just prevents yeast from reproducing. If you still had a lot of live but dormant yeast in the wine they can wake up and start fermenting again when you back-sweeten.


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