Has anyone made there own wine conditioner like the stuff you buy? If so
what portions of sugar, water and stabilizer do you use?

Walter,
I never use it, I add sugar to taste and use fresh sorbate at around
1.3 g/gallon (1/2 teaspoon). The amount of sugar you use does not
matter, sorbate inhibits yeast budding so if the wine is still you are
OK. I would like to get away from sorbate use but am not there yet.


Joe

Walter Venables wrote:
> Has anyone made there own wine conditioner like the stuff you buy? If so
> what portions of sugar, water and stabilizer do you use?

Joe Sallustio wrote:
> Walter,
> I never use it, I add sugar to taste and use fresh sorbate at around
> 1.3 g/gallon (1/2 teaspoon). The amount of sugar you use does not
> matter, sorbate inhibits yeast budding so if the wine is still you are
> OK. I would like to get away from sorbate use but am not there yet.
>
>
> Joe
>

Joe:

I also want to get away from sorbate but am not there yet - hopefully
next season! In the meantime, here is a good article that has allowed
me to reduce the amount of sorbate used significantly, and more
importantly, to the levels where I don't find it objectionable:

http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/sorbate.htm

I believe the original source of this info is Peynaud's Knowing and
Making Wine.

Pp

I can and do sterile filter using a 0.22 micron cartridge set up. But, I'm
sure I can't guarantee sterility downstream from the filter and through the
bottling process. Maybe you don't have to be absolutely sterile but I still
add K sorbate. I don't like the taste either but it's my experience this
taste fades with time. I've used amounts like Joe uses and also lower
amounts like 0.8 grams/gallon (about 210 ppm). Never any lower. Pp, are
you using the lower amounts mentioned in the article and are your off-dry
wines stable?

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

pp wrote "I also want to get away from sorbate but am not there yet -
hopefully
> next season! In the meantime, here is a good article that has allowed
> me to reduce the amount of sorbate used significantly, and more
> importantly, to the levels where I don't find it objectionable:
> http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/sorbate.htm
>
Joe Sallustio wrote: "I add sugar to taste and use fresh sorbate at around
>> 1.3 g/gallon (1/2 teaspoon)."

William Frazier wrote:
> I can and do sterile filter using a 0.22 micron cartridge set up. But, I'm
> sure I can't guarantee sterility downstream from the filter and through the
> bottling process. Maybe you don't have to be absolutely sterile but I still
> add K sorbate. I don't like the taste either but it's my experience this
> taste fades with time. I've used amounts like Joe uses and also lower
> amounts like 0.8 grams/gallon (about 210 ppm). Never any lower. Pp, are
> you using the lower amounts mentioned in the article and are your off-dry
> wines stable?
>
> Bill Frazier
> Olathe, Kansas USA
>

Yes. Admittedly, I don't have much data yet as I've been doing this for
2-3 years but so far I've had no problems, with additions as low as 0.1
g/L ( under 0.4g/gal) for a 13% alcohol Gewurz.

For me the smell is worse than taste. With the off-dry fruity wines,
the issue is they are freshest when they're youn, i.e., when the
sorbate is most noticeable.

I'm planning to get a good filter setup for next season. Since I'm not
doing this commercially, I'm willing to take the small risk of
contamination downstream.

Pp

The idea of a wine conditioner with both sugar and sorbate makes no sence.
You need a certain about of sorbate that depends on the volume of the wine
you are treating. You need a certain about of sweetner to give the wine the
taste you want. The two have no relationship. If you use a comercial
conditioner or make your own you are likely to use too much or too little
stabilizer or end with wine that is too sweet or not sweet enough. Just use
them separately. Add the right amount of sorbate and then sweeten it to
taste.

Ray

"Walter Venables" > wrote in message
...
> Has anyone made there own wine conditioner like the stuff you buy? If so
> what portions of sugar, water and stabilizer do you use?
>
>
>