campden question

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Richardroz

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I started a white grape fruit wine about 5 months ago and never added Campden tablets. I've racked it twice since then. Am I good to go if I just add campden tablets right before a bottle it?
 
The whole purpose of the campden at the beginning is to keep wild yeasts and other buggers from taking hold before your wine yeast can multiply. Wild yeast has a lower tolerance to sulfur than the actual wine yeast that is selected for this purpose. Adding it later may help protect from oxidation, but is by no means necessarily. In fact you don't need to add anything once the SG stabilizes, and it clears up. You can just bottle it. Unless you plan to add sugar and back sweeten it. Then you'd add about a tablespoon of sorbate at the same time to prevent your bottles from becoming bombs.
 
The whole purpose of the campden at the beginning is to keep wild yeasts and other buggers from taking hold before your wine yeast can multiply. Wild yeast has a lower tolerance to sulfur than the actual wine yeast that is selected for this purpose. Adding it later may help protect from oxidation, but is by no means necessarily. In fact you don't need to add anything once the SG stabilizes, and it clears up. You can just bottle it. Unless you plan to add sugar and back sweeten it. Then you'd add about a tablespoon of sorbate at the same time to prevent your bottles from becoming bombs.

I completely disagree.

It prevents oxidation, add it now.
 
sorry if this is a bad question, im new to all this, but would sorbate stop all the yeast from fermenting completly? if so could i use it to stop fermentation early for a sweeter wine?
 
sorry if this is a bad question, im new to all this, but would sorbate stop all the yeast from fermenting completly? if so could i use it to stop fermentation early for a sweeter wine?

No, it doesn't stop an active fermentation.

It is used in a completely finished fermentation, once the wine is clear and there is little yeast in suspension (and none on the bottom as lees). Then it's added, and it works by inhibiting yeast reproduction. In an active fermentation, the yeast don't need to multiply, so it does nothing.
 
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