A question on finishing

[Flugel91_30]

First of all, hello, it's been a while since I've posted anything. Mostly, I've just been cruising the site every now and then, while last year's wines aged.

And so... the time has come. It's been about a year since I began started primary fermentation in my strawberry wine, and I'm preparing to bottle it. However, having never done this before I was hoping to get a few tips/opinions, especially on stabilizing the wine. Out of the 4 gallons I have, I would like to leave 1 dry, 2 sweetened to a medium dry table wine, and perhaps one as a sweet dessert wine. My main concern is the use of potassium sorbate; I'm worried about any off flavors it may contribute. Is there a smaller amount per gallon that will not effect the wine much, while maintaining the needed potency? Do I really need to worry much about the flavor? I'm particularly concerned about this in regards to aging; while I drink wine, I don't drink that much, and it is very likely that some of this may be aged 5+ years.

I've considered some alternate means of stabilizing the wine, such as cooling it. Potassium sorbate just seems so much easier... Not that I'm going to skimp on my wine now. I've put way too much time into it to ruin the process now. The flavor is very nice, and I'd like to keep it that way...

As I said, any tips would be welcome. I've been making wine for a few years, but this is the first time I will be stabilizing and bottling my wine. My first year I just made 3 gallons of dandelion wine, which I stored in quart jars (which conveniently sealed themselves) without any stabilizers, as it was already quite sweet. Thanks for the help.

On a side note, I have 5 gallons of cherry wine that will be in the same position come mid-June, so I will be going through the same process on that. Both have turned out quite nicely. I don't have my log book on hand at the moment, but I can post measurements later if there's any interest.

 

[JohnT]

Sorbate prevents yeast cells from reproducing. If you plan on doing any back sweetening, this is a much needed step . There is no need for sorbate if you plan to keep the wine dry and bulk age for a year or two.

Trust me, many folks here experienced exploding corks simply because the yeast in the wine (and there is always at least a miniscule amount) fermented the backsweetening sugar.

I do not believe that cooling your wine will prevent an exploding cork, unless you plan to keep your wine in a refrigerator 100% of the time. If your wine ever approaches as low as 50 degrees, your wine is at risk.

I have never experienced any flavor change by using sorbate.

You should add your sorbate well ahead of bottling and backsweetening and at the recommended doses.