Mistake in mixing

[FoxL]

omg, I make wine all the time but was distracted this morning and I put in the potassium sorbate instead of the yeast......now what?

 

[ras2018]

Get a yeast starter going. Add that in once it’s rolling.

 

[jsbeckton]

I always avoid this by immediately throwing the sorbate in the garbage [emoji16]

 

[crushday]

omg, I make wine all the time but was distracted this morning and I put in the potassium sorbate instead of the yeast......now what?

This is not good news... I’m not sure yeast can survive now in this environment. A more experienced vintner might provide a different report, however.

 

[sour_grapes]

They can survive, but they will not be able to reproduce readily. That is why @ras2018 called for you to make a large starter. The idea is to "grow" a colony of yeast that is large enough to ferment your whole batch without needing to reproduce more yeast.

 

[1d10t]

No experience but I'd consider pitching half the starter to get it going and then grow the half not pitched. I'm much more experienced with beer though and I know letting the sweet stuff sit can invite 'unwanted' guests to get a foothold.

 

[crushday]

Just wondering @sour_grapes, can he pitch 5 yeast packets and get the same results as a starter? Legit question...

 

[cmason1957]

Just wondering @sour_grapes, can he pitch 5 yeast packets and get the same results as a starter? Legit question...

No is the simple answer. You want the yeast to bud and grow normally. It sant do that in the presence of the sorbate. That's how the sorbate works, it prevents the budding and growing of new yeast cells. So pitch into a separate vessel, let build for 12-24 hours. Now you have kids of yeast cells that are vigorous and ready to eat lots of sugar. You won't get a second generation of cells so you want lots.

 

[Rice_Guy]

omg, I make wine all the time but was distracted this morning and I put in the potassium sorbate instead of the yeast......now what?

The books say that Sorbate (sorbitol acid) gets metabolized to produce a geranium flower flavor. This will be an interesting experiment. Have only seen this twice in judging wine, geranium kinda overpowers fruit flavors.
I like CMASON’s answer about having yeast actively growing. The action of Sorbate is to prevent growth. Five packets of dry yeast are not actively growing till hydrated in water/ sugar solution.

 

[stickman]

Geranium doesn't happen with yeast, it's only an issue when certain bacteria are present, usually when someone tries malolactic fermentation with sorbate.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Geranium doesn't happen with yeast, it's only an issue when certain bacteria are present, usually when someone tries malolactic fermentation with sorbate.

That is correct, malo and sorbate causes geranium flavor/smell...not that I would know...

 

[Rice_Guy]

Geranium doesn't happen with yeast, it's only an issue when certain bacteria are present, usually when someone tries malolactic fermentation with sorbate.

THANKS !!