Potassium sorbate to kill residual fermentation

[Donatelo]

I am making a small batch of blackberry wine and a small batch of Welch's Concord grape wine. My instructions call for potassium SORBATE to kill further fermentation. My supplier does not list potassium sorbate. What is a good yeast killer so I can back sweeten and bottle?

 

[dralarms]

That’s about the only thing you can use. I get mine online on eBay.

 

[garymc]

Or online from Amazon or any number of winemaking supply companies that have websites.

 

[salcoco]

actually you want to have the fermentation completer. let wine clear, then bench trial with samples to determine sweetness level using sugar syrup. then add to main batch and then add sorbate and k-meta to prevent re-fermentation.

 

[Donatelo]

Got it! thanks

 

[GreginND]

FYI - potassium sorbate does not kill yeast. It only prevents it from multiplying. So any live yeast will happily live out their lives. It is a yeast growth inhibitor, not a yeast killer. It should be added after the wine has been cleared and close to bottling if you want to back sweeten. If the wine is dry, no need for sorbate. It should be used in conjunction with proper potassium metabisulfite.

 

[Donatelo]

After tasting I decided to forgo the sorbate entirely. The wine has a nice flavor and it needs no back sweetening. So I went with that.

 

[dralarms]

After tasting I decided to forgo the sorbate entirely. The wine has a nice flavor and it needs no back sweetening. So I went with that.

That happens.

 

[BgWine]

I don’t want to use sorbate, but I don’t have a .45 micron filter and need to add sweetness back to bone dry fruit wine.

Does anyone have experience with stevia/know if this or anything else will work as an unfermentable sugar? My worry with the sorbate is that the minute that goes in, my wine now as a shelf life before it turns to that germanium off-odor. Would like to keep my wine for a few years.

 

[cmason1957]

I don’t want to use sorbate, but I don’t have a .45 micron filter and need to add sweetness back to bone dry fruit wine.

Does anyone have experience with stevia/know if this or anything else will work as an unfermentable sugar? My worry with the sorbate is that the minute that goes in, my wine now as a shelf life before it turns to that germanium off-odor. Would like to keep my wine for a few years.

Adding sorbate does not decrease the self life. Sorbate itself does not produce the geranium off-odor, the wine must have undergone MLF for that to happen. Add the sorbate and some extra k-meta without fear.

Side note on stevia, I have never added it. One of the memebers of the winemaking club I belong to did a test where he sweetened the same wine with sugar, honey, stevia, and maybe saccharin. The stevia and saccharin (or whatever fake sugar it was) produced an off-taste at about the year mark.

 

[GreginND]

I don’t want to use sorbate, but I don’t have a .45 micron filter and need to add sweetness back to bone dry fruit wine.

Does anyone have experience with stevia/know if this or anything else will work as an unfermentable sugar? My worry with the sorbate is that the minute that goes in, my wine now as a shelf life before it turns to that germanium off-odor. Would like to keep my wine for a few years.

For non-fermentable sugars, I would look to Xylitol or Erythritol. They usually have flavors much closer to sugar.
FYI - I've had wine with sorbate for up to 10 years in the bottle with no renewed fermentation and no geranium.