I just started some traminette and have a couple of questions about residual sugars. If I would like to stop fermentation with 1-2% RS, it is my understanding that I need to start cooling down the process ahead of time to reach my target number. Is the cooling down only to slow the yeast down until the sulfite and sorbate can take affect, ( I am not planning on mlf) or are you supposed to age it cooled down until you bottle? Thanks...
Chilling question...
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Bartman
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Arresting fermentation at a certain sugar level is quite tricky and difficult, partly for the reasons you mention. Even after bottling, you have to watch out for re-started fermentation in the bottle later on.
To answer your question, yes, cooling down the must (I assume we are talking about 6 gallons or more) does not happen instantly or even quickly, unless you use dry ice, which I would not recommend personally. So the yeast will continue fermenting until you get them thoroughly chilled, and if the temperature ever rises up again in the absence of adequate sulfite and/or sorbate, fermentation is likely (though not guaranteed) to re-start.
To be on the safe side, if you can successfully arrest the fermentation, I would keep it chilled and well-sulfited and sorbated (if that's a verb).
To answer your question, yes, cooling down the must (I assume we are talking about 6 gallons or more) does not happen instantly or even quickly, unless you use dry ice, which I would not recommend personally. So the yeast will continue fermenting until you get them thoroughly chilled, and if the temperature ever rises up again in the absence of adequate sulfite and/or sorbate, fermentation is likely (though not guaranteed) to re-start.
To be on the safe side, if you can successfully arrest the fermentation, I would keep it chilled and well-sulfited and sorbated (if that's a verb).
Bartman said things well. I think you would be best served by letting it ferment to dry, racking off the lees, sorbating/sulfiting, and then backsweetening. It would be considerably safer.
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Ferment to dry, backsweeten and stabilize your wine. It would be nearly impossible to deliberately stop your wine at 1 or 2% rs. If I stop a wine it is a lot higher than 2% and I add 100ppm of meta or straight spirits very high in abv and quickly chill it. Even then there is a +or- of the target.
