Final fortification questions

[greyday]

Hi all--sorry for the second thread, my final questions I think got buried in the initial one; I still have the following questions on making a plum/syrah port; SG is nearing 1.03, so I'm planning to fortify shortly using brandy. Using various web calculators, my current SBV is between 14-15%, and the amount of brandy I'm adding should bring the overall up to about 21-22%. So:

1) will this be enough to kill fermentation, or should I use something else? Campden tablets, metabisulfite, etc.Using ec-1118 yeast.

2) so far it tastes all right, but I may end up adding a flavour f-pack depending on the effects of the brandy. When should I do this? And can I include the remainder of the syrah concentrate in the f-pack?

3) Is Sparkolloid a good idea? If so, at which stage?

4) depending on the above, my current plan is to remove the jam bag, fortify, let sit for a few hours (to let some of the lees drop), add whatever is suggested from the above, then rack. Am I missing any steps here?

Thanks for your answers so far, you guys have been INVALUABLE! And sorry for all the questions, I'm more experimental when it's solely fruit from my garden, but the price tag on the concentrate and the brandy makes me want to be sure everything goes smoothly...

 

[naperwineguy]

I can only tell you what I did with my Cab port - which is nothing. I fermented to dry. Added my brandy, and backsweetened to taste. At that high level of ABV, I was not worried about micro-instability, and as for oxidation, I prefer a bit amount of oxidation to the port - I think the tawney color is a good look.

While the ec-1118 yeast is a hardy strain - surviving at those conditions are near next to impossible.

I did not use any fining agents such as sparkolloid, just let nature and time take its course, racking every 3 weeks or so. If you are finding that your wine is not clearing at an acceptable level - then resort to a fining agent of some sort. Usually the best for reds is the use of egg-whites or bentonite, but sparkolloid can be used. I would bench trial any fining additive before adding to the entire batch. A good article on the use of fining agents can be found here:

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15688