"Marshall Jose" < wrote in message
> Bertie Doe wrote:
<<snip>>
>> Any ideas on how to stop the wine earlier and thus
>> leave some sugar in solution, but avoid a secondary?
>> I didn't have this problem with kits, but the DIY
>> method seems a lot tastier and is a hell of a lot
>> cheaper. TIA.
>>
>> Bertie
>
> Jack Keller has some useful information about this
> topic:
>
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/finishin.asp under
> the topic "Stopping Fermentation"
>
> In order to end up with a wine which is "not dry",
> you have to either force fermentation to stop
> (through a combination of sulfite and sorbate), or
> pitch a yeast with a low alcohol toxicity such that
> it dies before all the sugar is metabolized. The
> latter method is maddening because yeast population
> dwindles slowly at the toxicity level.
>
> Marshall

I bought some sulphate and sorbate yesterday and added
to both wines. The white (which is older) stopped
within a few hours, the younger more active red, took
about 20 hours to stop. Thanks again for the Jack
Keller link, I'll follow the advice and wait another 10
days for the dead cells to drop.

Bertie