One more wine question....

[adm]

I should probably find a wine forum to ask these in. But some of you lot do wine, so I'll ask here first.

I racked off my Beaverdale Chardonnay kit to a secondary today, and the instructions say to add the sachet of stabiliser. So - do i need to add it or is the wine likely to be OK without. I'd rather not add unknown chemicals if possible....

The sachet and instructions don't say what the stabiliser is - just that it "prevents any further fermentations, but will not stop the current fermentation".

Any ideas? What is it - and is it required?

[Horden Hillbilly]

The stabiliser sachet contains Potassium Sorbate. Basically, it starves the yeast of its nutrients which prevents it from starting to ferment again once the wine is bottled, therefore taking away the risk of the corks popping from the bottles.

I have always used it myself without it causing any problems with the wine.

[adm]

The stabiliser sachet contains Potassium Sorbate. Basically, it starves the yeast of its nutrients which prevents it from starting to ferment again once the wine is bottled, therefore taking away the risk of the corks popping from the bottles.

I have always used it myself without it causing any problems with the wine.

Thanks HH,

Now I know what it is, Google says:

"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 CO2 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"


So.....given that I want a dry wine and won't be sweetening it, would you say I was better off leaving it in secondary for a few weeks just to make sure all fermentation has finished, then fining, then putting the stabiliser in if the fining doesn't clear it totally?

[boingy]

Use it. If you don't your wine may continue to ferment very slowly. At best it will become too dry. At worst it will push out the cork or burst the bottles.

[Petrovitch]

Like boingy says your wine may well keep on fermenting in the bottle depending on how long you intend to keep it. I've had a few random bottles that have hidden from sight for a year or two that have very slowly carbonated themselves...and I've never heard of anyone being able to discern any flavour from the addition of potassium sorbate.

[adm]

OK...I'll put in in...

Should I do it now - i.e at the beginning of secondary, or should I just leave it sit for for a few weeks first before adding it and then fining a bit later?

Also - all this degassing and shaking it around business? Will it just degass naturally if I leave it in the secondary in the cold garage for a month?

[Horden Hillbilly]

I always put my stabiliser in at the start of the secondary. I suppose that if you left your wine long enough , the Co2 would degass naturally.

[Laripu]

OK...I'll put in in...

Should I do it now - i.e at the beginning of secondary, or should I just leave it sit for for a few weeks first before adding it and then fining a bit later?

Also - all this degassing and shaking it around business? Will it just degass naturally if I leave it in the secondary in the cold garage for a month?

CO2 is more soluble at lower temps. So: no, I think. When I lager beer for 4 months at 5°C, it retains much more CO2 than when I brew ale at 20°C.