Can I bottle my wine without potassium sorbate?

My wine is still clearing in 1 gallon jugs and has a very very thin layer of sediment on the bottom. Should I rack it and keep letting it sit or rack it into bottles? Also, since its been finished fermenting for several weeks now, can I get away with two crushed campden tablets and bottling or do I HAVE to use potassium sorbate? Id rather not use it.

Myself I don't use campden tablets or sorbate in any of my wines but I normally have abit more alcohol than normal in mine. I'm sure some of the others that use all the chemicals will let you know before long. I say this just to let you know it can be done

IF fermentation is finished (got a specific gravity for reference?), AND you do not sweeten the wine, AND you sanitize the bottles properly, THEN you can omit the sorbate.

Steve

I agree with Steve.
You should add however sulfite unless you plan on drinking fast.

Sirs said:

Myself I don't use campden tablets or sorbate in any of my wines but I normally have abit more alcohol than normal in mine. I'm sure some of the others that use all the chemicals will let you know before long. I say this just to let you know it can be done

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Sirs, I found your comment very interesting. I was thinking of trying this myself. Could I ask, typically how long could your wine go age wise before it starts to decline?

Yes keep racking until your wine is totally clear and sediment free. I don't mean every few days but maybe every 2-3 weeks. I have a feeling you are anxious to bottle and drink. Campden tablets are used at the rate of one per gallon. As to what Steve was eluding to make sure you have the same sg reading three days in a row to ensure the fermentation is complete. If you are not going to sweeten your wine there is no need for sorbate.

buddy said:

Sirs, I found your comment very interesting. I was thinking of trying this myself. Could I ask, typically how long could your wine go age wise before it starts to decline?

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sent you a pm, I've never had wine make it past 5 years before it was gone but all have been good up to at least that old most never last past first year or so lol they get drank to quick

Runningwolf said:

Yes keep racking until your wine is totally clear and sediment free. I don't mean every few days but maybe every 2-3 weeks. I have a feeling you are anxious to bottle and drink. Campden tablets are used at the rate of one per gallon. As to what Steve was eluding to make sure you have the same sg reading three days in a row to ensure the fermentation is complete. If you are not going to sweeten your wine there is no need for sorbate.

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If the wine is DRY, I agree. If there is any residual sugar, you always run the risk of fermentation picking up again later.

BobF said:

If the wine is DRY, I agree. If there is any residual sugar, you always run the risk of fermentation picking up again later.

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This is not entirely true. If like was stated you have a high enough alcohol level you will not start fermenting again because the yeast die. I make mead that way now and It always has residual sugars.

buddy said:

Sirs, I found your comment very interesting. I was thinking of trying this myself. Could I ask, typically how long could your wine go age wise before it starts to decline?

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At the LE tasting with Tim Vandergrift a while ago, he said something very interesting about how long to keep wines. He referred to Clark's law of aging which states that a wine will stay at it's peak for the same length of time it took to reach that peak and then slowly decline from there. In other words if a wine takes 2 years to peak it will hold that for another 2 years and then start to decline. I'm sure the "clark's law" bit was just a humorous take from Clark's laws of predictability, but the timelines are interesting. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I know that aging and holding are dependent on many factors and these guidelines would not be set in stone but it is an interesting statement he made.

mmadmikes1 said:

This is not entirely true. If like was stated you have a high enough alcohol level you will not start fermenting again because the yeast die. I make mead that way now and It always has residual sugars.

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Yep, I thought of that when I posted, but it wasn't the OP that mentioned high alcohol. Of course 'high alcohol' depends on the specific yeast used.

If you have a yeast advertized as a 14% yeast and your abv is close to 14% AND you have residual sugar ...

Me? I'd sorbate or sterile filter before bottling. I'm anal like that. I've never had a surprise and I want to keep it that way!

BobF said:

If you have a yeast advertized as a 14% yeast and your abv is close to 14% AND you have residual sugar ...

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We get regular posts from people who thought yeast max is 14%, the ferment will stop at 14%, and it keeps going to 18% (or whatever).

Not a reliable method of wine making.

Steve

cpfan said:

We get regular posts from people who thought yeast max is 14%, the ferment will stop at 14%, and it keeps going to 18% (or whatever).

Not a reliable method of wine making.

Steve

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That's my point. Best to manage sugar levels and yeast choice to get a dry wine at the desired abv. Then use sorbate and backsweeten to taste.

BobF said:

That's my point. Best to manage sugar levels and yeast choice to get a dry wine at the desired abv. Then use sorbate and backsweeten to taste.

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Not necessary to manage yeast if sugar levels are right, unless the yeast is not expected to reach the desired level. If you're aiming for something resaonable (under 14%) and using most wine yeast, yeast choice is not a problem.

Steve

cpfan said:

Not necessary to manage yeast if sugar levels are right, unless the yeast is not expected to reach the desired level. If you're aiming for something resaonable (under 14%) and using most wine yeast, yeast choice is not a problem.

Steve

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Steve - This will be my last comment. Feel free to have the last nit.

Yeast selection IS important as is the level of sugar. They work together. Bottom line is that if you have residual sugar, you risk a restart of fermentation unless you do *something* to prevent it.

This can be sorbate. It can be fortification well beyond the alcohol tolerance level of the yeast. It can be sterile filtering.

It is prudent to see how far the ferment went. If it is dry, it doesn't matter. If it is NOT dry, you should to do *something* to prevent referment before bottling.

So, I'm curious as to what is the problem with using Potassium Sorbate (at least if you haven't done MLF)? Is it just that it is another chemical or is it something else? I'm not judging, I fully support everyone's right to make their wine however they please of course.

But look around your cupboard and refrigerator at the labels and see how many of them have Potassium Sorbate in them. Quite a few in mine.

you don't sorbate when you MLF and it is fine. Guys I am never in a hurry to bottle and if a mead hasn't restarted in 1 year, it is not going to. Mead has been found in the Egyptian tombs thousand of years old and still good. I dont back sweeten grape wine so I don't use sorbate for that either, I do use K-Met. I do back sweeten fruit wines so they get sorbate and K-Met. Tried fruity rocket fuel and no one much liked it.There is more why than one to skin a horse and like many here I have learned a lot the hard way. Like many here also I have made hundreds of gallons of wines and like what I make. I am sure you like what you make as well. Every question deserves. answers from experience because if it works, it isn't wrong. Just as what you do works for you what I do works for me. We can give a person all possible answers and let them decide what they want to do.

It is just the fact of using a chemical to them. Some people like to be totally natural and I understand but you must be knowledgeable in this area as to amount of abv tolerance a wine yeast has. Most are around 14-16 abv and some around 18. The thing is Ive seen 18 make it to twenty and 16 make it to 18 so you really need to make sure your above a bit what it is rated for.

Also, higher abv' slike Sirs is talking about are their own preservative and keep bacteria at bay. The lower the abv the more it gets wiser to use sulfites.

There are also some who say that sorbate can add a sweetness to the wine; personally I have not tasted it but then my taste buds aren't as acute as they used to be.