Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It probably will start fermenting again, unless you use potassium sorbate, or wine stabilizer. Some use campden tablets (sulfite) to inactivate the yeast. This I don’t recommend, as most yeasts are sulphite-tolerant, so it’s a gambleif you use this method. If you use too much sulphite, some of your friends may have a reaction to the sulphite (asthma, headache, etc.) Email me if you need a source for the stabilizer. It’s not expensive. Donald Hellen I’m making my first batch of wine from a kit, and I suspect I will be sweetening a little bit. The kit has me adding potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate, then waiting a while for clearing then bottling. If I sweeten just before bottling, will I still need to add more stabilizer? Greg Nelson
Actually, I’ve never had trouble with sweetening wine. I’ve been making wine the last couple of years and have made 15 batches of wine (keeping a wine note-book is great). I have sweetened everyone on my batches (usually 5 gallons of wine) and have never had one restart. It’s easy, here is how I manage it: The wine has to have completely stopped fermenting before you do these final steps: For a 5 gallon batch of wine, I add 4 teaspoons of sorbate & 4 teaspoons of metabisulfide solution (equivalent to 4 sulfide tablets, but already desolved) to the wine must. I let it stay in the must for at least an hour. I add in the sugar solution at this point. The solutionis made from a cup hot water and a cup of sugar – I desolve all the sugar into the water before adding it to the wine as a sweetener. Addas much as you need, one may be enough or you may need more. I usually "under sweeten" as it tastes sweeter as time goes on and when the wine is cold. I now run it through my home-made filter, but at least five of the batches we have made were not filtered. Is the Sorbate and sulfides needed? Yes, to be absolutely safe I would add them in at the last. I have made at least one batch that was just filtered and it hasn’t started, but I think I was just lucky. I now add a minimum amount of both for insurance 
Virtually all commercial wines have sulfides as a preservative and I add it along with the sorbate to remove any possibility of the wine starting fermenting again. Sorbate works by preventing the yeast cells from budding, but will not work on a wine that is actively fermenting. In the finall step, the wine filtering. You should use at least a 5 micron filter. This will even work with fruit wine (Black Berry wine is my favorite). You can go down to a 1 micron or use the ultra pure .45 micron filter on white wines. I actually haven’t noticed any difference in clarity with 1 micron and .45 micron and maybe it removes a little too much Both wines worked out fine. May I recommend some good wine books ? "First steps in wine making" by C.J.J Berry and "The Art of Making WINE" by Stanley Anderson both good books… Cheers, Edwin . . . Checkout my wine page at: http://www.teleport.com/~efa/wine.html Salem, Or. 97302 | local = GMT – 7 | but not simpler.
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For a 5 gallon batch of wine, I add 4 teaspoons of sorbate & 4 teaspoons of metabisulfide solution (equivalent to 4 sulfide tablets, but already desolved) to the wine must.
I didn’t get very far into your post when I have to respond to this. You mean something other then 4 teaspoons unless you have a different type of sulfite. Normal sulfite usage is 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons to give about 50 parts per million. The amount you call out here would be about 800 parts per million. This would not be drinkable due to the strong taste and smell. Don’t use anything stronger then 1/4 tsp for 5 gallons or the taste and smell will be over powering. Don Winemaker, Landlord, Adventurer
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I’m making my first batch of wine from a kit, and I suspect I will be sweetening a little bit. The kit has me adding potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate, then waiting a while for clearing then bottling. If I sweeten just before bottling, will I still need to add more stabilizer? Greg Nelson
Filtering can help, as a follow-up post mentioned, by removing the yeast cells altogether. You can also sweeten as you go, with no preservatives, but you cannot bottle. I have not had any trouble using Potassium Sorbate only, and I do not filter. I do rack twice or three times, one month apart, until the wine is clear, with no clearing agents. I make most of my wines from fresh fruit, which would be more apt to have problems clearing. But patience is rewarded, and it works out for me. I bottle in 2-liter plastic coke bottles or 1-1/2 liter "sparkling water" bottles. If they begin developing pressure (mine never have), you’ll need to take further steps to stop your wine from fermenting. Most, however, do not need to sulfite their wines. It does "preserve" them longer, a plus for commercially made wines, giving them a longer shelf life. DH
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: says… : : I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It : is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time : I bottle it. Will it start working again? —
It probably will start fermenting again, unless you use potassium sorbate, or wine stabilizer. Some use campden tablets (sulfite) to inactivate the yeast. This I don’t recommend, as most yeasts are sulphite-tolerant, so it’s a gambleif you use this method. If you use too much sulphite, some of your friends may have a reaction to the sulphite (asthma, headache, etc.) Email me if you need a source for the stabilizer. It’s not expensive. Donald Hellen
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Your best bet is to bottle the wine as it is as sweetening WILL cause refermentation in the bottle. Also you can ALWAYS sweeten but cannot make it dryer.If you like a sweeter wine, make up a sugar syrup mixure of about 2 or 3 parts sugar to one part filtered water and heat in the mictowave or saucepan untill the mixture is clear. Keep this and add to the wine to taste when serving. I do this for my friends whose palate has not adjusted to dry wine. Crash42
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It probably will start fermenting again, unless you use potassium sorbate, or wine stabilizer. Some use campden tablets (sulfite) to inactivate the yeast. This I don’t recommend, as most yeasts are sulphite-tolerant, so it’s a gambleif you use this method. If you use too much sulphite, some of your friends may have a reaction to the sulphite (asthma, headache, etc.) Email me if you need a source for the stabilizer. It’s not expensive. Donald Hellen
I’m making my first batch of wine from a kit, and I suspect I will be sweetening a little bit. The kit has me adding potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate, then waiting a while for clearing then bottling. If I sweeten just before bottling, will I still need to add more stabilizer? Greg Nelson
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: says… : : I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It : is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time : I bottle it. Will it start working again? — I just made some concord this past spring and what I have done is to make a sugar concentrate with 2 parts sugar and 1 part water. I usually take 4 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water and put them in a pot and bring the thing to a boil at which point the sugar will dissolve into the water. Let it boil until the sugar is totally absorbed and then let it cool. You will end up with a thick sugar syrup, which can be added to the 5 gallon carboy. You need to use a hydrometer to check the "sweetness" or sugar level. I have found that between 1.020 and 1.030 is a good number for my tastes. Slowly add the sugar concentrate to the carboy in small amounts until the desired level of sweetness is obtained. You may want to rack off 1 gallon and do a small experiment so as not to ruin the whole batch if you get it too sweet. You can then use the hydrometer to check specific gravity on the 1 gallon batch and then use it to do the remaining wine. I also added metabisulfite to stop any further fermentation (a couple of tablets for 5 gallons). One more thing on sweetening, let the sugar syrup/wine solution sit over night before you do your final determination on the sweetness level. It seems as if the sugar gets absorbed or mellows out a little over the course of 12-24 hours. Good luck, Gary | Equipment Design and Development | Rochester, NY +—-+ | The views expressed do not reflect those of Johnson & Johnson
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I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time I bottle it. Will it start working again?
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says… I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time I bottle it. Will it start working again?
You can sweeten with grape concentrate and add some Potassium Sorbate (instructions in the label). Or you can use a sweetener/conditioner which has already some sorbate in it. Good luck. Giovanni.
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: I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It : is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time : I bottle it. Will it start working again? I know what you mean. There is nothing worse than unemployed wine — | "Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go Paul Traverse | To heal my heart and drown my woe. Radio Call VO1PPT | Rain may fall and wind may blow, St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada | And many miles be still to go, "The Oldest City In North America" | But under a tall tree I will lie, | And let the clouds go sailing by."
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Yes and yes. Consider sorbate product to prevent fermentation from restarting. Talk to your wine shop for details. You can add Sweet and Low too. Although I’ve heard it turns bitter over time.
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I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time I bottle it. Will it start working again?
Use potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite at bottling, sweeten to taste (maybe by adding some grape juice in addition to sugar). If you do those things, you should not have refermention. Don Winemaker, Landlord, Adventurer
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : I have a 5 gallon carboy of Concord Wine that is ready to bottle. It : is very dry and I would like to know if it can be sweetend at the time : I bottle it. Will it start working again? I know what you mean. There is nothing worse than unemployed wine — | "Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go Paul Traverse | To heal my heart and drown my woe. Radio Call VO1PPT | Rain may fall and wind may blow, St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada | And many miles be still to go, "The Oldest City In North America" | But under a tall tree I will lie, | And let the clouds go sailing by."
If your alcohol, sulfite and acid levels are sufficient, potassium sorbate will keep the yeast from refermenting after you sweeten your wine to your liking. – Mark
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