Can I bottle my wine without potassium sorbate?

[Wade E]

Well I dont see a problem with that as if using it you would most likely be sweetening your wine anyway or there really is no need to use it anyway.

 

[deboard]

I think the chemical name turns people off, most people equate chemical names with bad things it seems. (Except Alcohol, which has quite a good reputation)

My wife's mother would always say she would never use a chemical like Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in her food. But she ran through bottles of something labeled "Good Taste" (from the asian store) like it was going out of style. Look at the ingredients - only one - MSG.

Potassium Sorbate has a toxicity almost exactly the same as table salt. I think it needs a new name - "Wine Freshener" maybe? "Fizzy Wine Preventer"? "Broken bottle preventer"?

 

[Dugger]

Yes, I totally agree, and that is why I normally don't use the sorbate that comes with kits ( I rarely sweeten, only when kits come with F-packs), but then I have been making kits for 15 years and feel very comfortable not using the sorbate. Just this year I started my first fruit wine ( blackberry) and since this process is new to me I definitely use sorbate and when I finally get around to fresh juice wines I will use it as well, until I feel comfortable enough with that process to not use it if I choose.
I guess my point is that until you are comfortable/confident with the whole process, then you should use the sorbate for ease of mind.
However, if your wine is dry and you add sorbate there can be a perceived sweetness and this is what deboard wanted to know, I believe.
P.S. Another name for sorbate at some supply stores is "wine stabilizer" - perhaps this is more palatable!

 

[deboard]

Would you put any of these in your wine?

Potassium Bitartrate
2-methoxy-3-isobutyl pyrazine
4-vinylguaiacol
4-vinylphenol
Terpenes

probably not if they were in a bottle. But all of these are part of the chemical composition of a wine grape. Grapes also contain dihydrogen monoxide!

 

[mmadmikes1]

I have no problem with chemicals, just don't add anything I don't need. Original question was "can i bottle without Potassium Sorbate" answer is if you do it right, yes

 

[agdodge4x4]

I thought potassium sorbate was not something you wanted to add to a wine that is going to be aged for more than a year.

Is this not true?

 

[xoltri]

I thought potassium sorbate was not something you wanted to add to a wine that is going to be aged for more than a year.

Is this not true?

Potassium sorbate just prevents yeast cells from reproducing. If they can't reproduce, even if there are a few live yeast cells in a sugary wine, there won't be enough to cause a re-fermentation. Aging has nothing to do with it.

 

[Wade E]

I have wines that are now 6 years old with sorbate and they are fine. Some have lost their peak due to being lighter fruit wines but thats nothing to do with sorbate.

 

[agdodge4x4]

Thats what I needed to know. I read in some of my books that it can impart a 'taste' after some time. It was the Berry book...or Garey..can't recall. So, thats why I was asking.

Thanks for the info.

 

[agdodge4x4]

OK...I have racked my wine, and its still at the same SG it was months ago. There was only a small layer of sediment, but I did not add campden this time since I did it last time. I topped up to close to the stopper, and its fitted with an air lock...just sitting there.

Now, how do I handle stabilizing it now? Before I bottle it, I will put in one crushed campden tablet...or two according to some books, and I will add the k-sorbate at 1/2 tsp per gallon. Now do I need to rack this wine into a carboy of dissolved sorbate and campden and let it sit for a few days before it goes into the bottle or what? In other words, will I need to rack again or just dissolve it and send it to the bottle?

 

[Tom]

OK now depending on when you added the meta you may NOT need to add any more.
When you stabilized with the tabs it is good for 3 months. So, if you did that less than 3 months ago you are set.
Now for the sorbate.
What kind of wine is this?
When did you make it?
do you plan on sweetening or add a f-pac?
You may not need to add sorbate depending on your answer.

 

[agdodge4x4]

There is one gallon of red and one gallon of white wine.

Not sure when the wine was started...its in my notes at home. Neither is crystal clear yet, but Im not sure if it will clear or if I should let it clear in a bottle or what. I think it was started in October.

 

[cpfan]

There is one gallon of red and one gallon of white wine.

Not sure when the wine was started...its in my notes at home. Neither is crystal clear yet, but Im not sure if it will clear or if I should let it clear in a bottle or what. I think it was started in October.

Most of us feel that clearing in the bottle is a bad idea. You will likely end up with sediment which most people don't like.

Steve

 

[agdodge4x4]

So how long does it take for it to clear? 4 months? six months? I mean, you can see through it, its just not like white wine in a bottle that is crystal clear.

 

[Renee212]

Sorbate and Wine Conditioner

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.

recently made 5 gallon of Blackberry Wine with VINTNER's Best ready Juice-
followed directions on the jug which also called to add sorbate- I finished it with Wine Conditioner (sugar syrup) and did not realize it already had sorbate in it- needless to say, as now I have wine with a double portion of Sorbate- I messed up, drinking 2 glasses of very nice tasting & smelling wine, I paid for it a few hours later with extreme Di......a- apparently very sensitive to the chemical- will be making another batch, and perhaps mixing the 1 st with the 2nd?? or will the sorbate eventually lessen or die off after 6 month or so? I will probably need to use the conditioner again, but not any more sorbate- bad experience- sugg
estion?

 

[Arne]

recently made 5 gallon of Blackberry Wine with VINTNER's Best ready Juice-
followed directions on the jug which also called to add sorbate- I finished it with Wine Conditioner (sugar syrup) and did not realize it already had sorbate in it- needless to say, as now I have wine with a double portion of Sorbate- I messed up, drinking 2 glasses of very nice tasting & smelling wine, I paid for it a few hours later with extreme Di......a- apparently very sensitive to the chemical- will be making another batch, and perhaps mixing the 1 st with the 2nd?? or will the sorbate eventually lessen or die off after 6 month or so? I will probably need to use the conditioner again, but not any more sorbate- bad experience- sugg
estion?

First off, welcome to the forum. I don't believe I have heard of anybody having your problem with the sorbate. I do know it looses its ability to keep the wine from refermenting if it gets old, so maybe it will go away with time. The sorbate is used in combination with sulfites (campden tabs or k-meta powder) to keep the sugars you sweeten back with from refermenting. If you let your wines ferment dry and you do not sweeten, you do not need the sorbate. Otherwise there are some nonfermentables that you can use to sweeten that you do not need the sorbate. Good luck with it, Arne.