Stabilization?

[smikes]

Need some of your input . Have a number of wines that I was thinking of beginning stabilization on.I was wondering what people here have done, tried and learned?


Questions I have are:





Degass before stabilization or after?


Do you have to add sorbate and kmet, or does cold stabilization eliminate that need?


Afterracking freshly out ofC.S., should I let the wine warm up before bottling?


Does sorbate have a flavor that shows in the wine and does it get stronger in an older wine?




(I do want to hide bottles for up to 5 years)




I do put my wine through rackings to eliminate all sediment and I do have a Vinebrite Filter I could also use if that may help.


I also have a frig that I can cold stabilize in.


Thank You, and Happy New Year!

 

[Tom]

smikes,
1st ?
how many times have you racked?
When did you make it
What's the gravity

 

[Tom]

If it's a KIT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS
also depends on your gravity, you do not want to rush.


Answers


Degass before stabilization or after? After


Do you have to add sorbate and kmet, or does cold stabilization eliminate that need? If its a kit follow directions .. Yes you need at least k met ..sorbate if you didn't age at least 6 months I addd just in case


Afterracking freshly out ofC.S., should I let the wine warm up before bottling? I would bottle room temp


Does sorbate have a flavor that shows in the wine and does it get stronger in an older wine? To much Sorbate has an odor




I do put my wine through rackings to eliminate all sediment and I do have a Vinebrite Filter I could also use if that may help. YES rack

Is this your 1st wine?

 

[grapeman]

Good questions Tepe. Smikes, we need information before recommendations. What wine did you make, out of what, starting- ending SG. How much k-meta or campdens. These and many more things come into play. The easiest way to track questions like this is to add to a post you started. Nobody but maybe Wade can remember all the information. LOL

 

[Wade E]

What wines are you doing that you feel they need cold stabilization? I post on 4 forums so remembering what batches you are doing is very hard to do not to mention the fact of age setting in!

 

[smikes]

I have a bunch of different ones in various stages, Some that have cleared brilliantly way before I expected and most all with IG at 1.090 and last reading .995 or lower. I was trying to get Ideas as to what I could do as I transfer to pull oak or rack off of very fine lees.


I have done a kit and followed directions for that adding sorbate and kmet. I have read though that sorbate does add its flavor to wine and that it gets stronger as it ages. Was looking for feedback on whether someone has actually noticed that.


Most of what I have,going by calculations I have used off of this and other sites put all my wines that are below1.00 to have between 12.5% and 14.5% alcohol, and maybe wont have to worry about renewed fermentation.


My exception is a strawberry that began at 1.150 in early July and at last reading when I added oak in August was 1.005.It has been racked since then ,but I failed to take a hydrometer reading on that. I had posted on that wine before here, as I thought I had over sulfited it but when I tested it it came back fine.


My first wine was an apple that I made from fresh pressed apples and that was in carboy for 8 months. I did not add sorbate to that when I bottled, only the recommended Kmet.That has been stored at 66-70 degrees since then and I have had no problems with re-fermenting. That started at 1.072 and ended at .995. Not backsweetend.


If no one has noticed sorbate causing a significant flavor change, then I go that way, just looking for some feedback.


But if there is a different way that works, I am willing to try!

 

[grapeman]

Two generalizations to follow


1) If you plan on sweetening, use k-meta in adequate amount and add k-sorbate at recommended rate. Allow to sit a couple days and then sweeten to desired level. Never rely on alcohol to prevent renewed fermentation. It can happen at the most inopportune times.


2)Cold stabilization will not prevent yeast from rebeginning fermentation. Cold stabilization is a useful way to have the wine drop some sediment while it precipitates out some acids. It can help reduce hazy wine also when you refrigerate or chill the wine before serving.


Also in general, sorbate is not readily detected when used in recommended levels. This isn't to say that someone with the nose of a bloodhound couldn't smell it.

 

[Tom]

smikes,
Are the wines in question oaked? Most REDS should be oaked. If you oak after you add clearing agents you might have to do it again after you rack off the oak.
How many times have you racked?
Your Strawberry.. WHY did you oak that fruit wine. and I (hope) think you ment starting gravity 1.050 (that being low)? 1.150 = 35 BRIX = 20% WOW what a punch most yeasts will not go that high.
I make Strawberry every year and NEVER oaked it. It would be better if you made a F-PAC and backsweetened it.

 

[Wade E]

To each their own with oaking, everyone likes and dislikes different oaking levels in different wines. That sg was extremely high for a strawberry wine. The post about sorbate you may be referring to is the addition of sorbate to a wine that has started Malolactic fermentation, thats why it is very important to use sorbate only with a proper sulfite addition. If a Malolactic fermentation is in progress the the addition of sorbate will cause a geranium taste and odor in your wine.

 

[smikes]

Yes 1.150 on the stawberry,and it did ferment well ,used K1-1116 on it. It was my fault for going with a receipe and not checking the Sg as I made it. Lesson learned.BUT I topped off with water a needed and it's good! I oak with med toast Hungarian cubes for 8 weeks.( I bring cubes to a boil in water then remove and rinse)Comes out nice.Wine has great nose and lots of body, and yeah its kinda strong. Good with chocolate.


I add my oak when I transfer to carboy when fermentation has slowed down(1.025+-)


The sorbate thing came from J.Kellers site. He suggest using sodium benzoate as alternative.


As long as no one here has noticed it making a difference, I will use it with out worry.




If I cold stabilize, should I add the sorbate and Kmet before ?




Thank You for the help!

 

[smikes]

What wines are you doing that you feel they need cold stabilization? I post on 4 forums so remembering what batches you are doing is very hard to do not to mention the fact of age setting in!

Hi Wade,I am guessing you kind of use the same name on another forum?


More then anything , I am just trying to learn different approaches to do things. Although I know that cold stabilization really only puts yeast to sleep, somewhere it read like it would truely stabilize the wine. I knew" if you ask, they will answer". Its easier to learn if I can ask questions to clear up those grey areas! I have also read that the CS helps smooth out a wine, so I keep that in mind if I think that may help me.


Oh ,and about that age thing.12/30 would have been my birthday, but I decided last year to stop at 43!

 

[grapeman]

You really should have posted your birthdate when you signed up a while back. George sends you a coupon for your birthday. Now you need to wait until December 2009 to get one for saving money!

 

[Wade E]

Cold stabilization is not really something needed for kit wines unless they are very high end kits with grape skins and even then it really will only drop just a little bit. These kit wines are already balanced so SMOOTHING out your kit wine may actually take it out of balance. Yes I do use the same name on several forums.

 

[Mark]

I used to cold stabilize everything because I didn't want diamonds in my bottles (WE 7.5L and 16L, and MM 10L and 23L), but only had tartrates (about 1/4 cup) precipitate from a Meglioli Riesling (that came with a raisin pack). So I've stopped doing it on anything smaller than 23L, but haven't decided yet about the AllJuice's (guess I'll have to make a few more to find out!) I have a Meglioli Merlot and another Riesling on order, and will probably cold stabilize them given that experience. Haven't noticed the cold changing any flavors, though.