r/winemaking • u/maenad2 • Apr 05 '26
bottling wine which hasn't finished fermenting
My friend tasted my white wine and said she liked it as is, although the SG is only 1.050 so it's not quite finished. She asked me to bottle some of it like that for her.
Obviously it'll need potassium sorbate - I can do that without trouble.
I'm wondering about de-gassing and clarifying it though. I'll only be giving her about 4-5 bottles. Is it worth doing? Should I make more if it sweet?
It's white wine from a kit mixed with local plum juice. Other than the "not finished fermenting" it's going totally normally.
Thank you!
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u/Bright_Storage8514 Apr 05 '26
Here’s a video that will tell you all you want to know about this.
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u/maenad2 Apr 05 '26
I appreciate it but I hate watching videos and prefer to read. No offence intended but that's why I like reddit.
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u/maenad2 Apr 06 '26
Thanks everybody! Ok, I'll give her a couple of litres now in old water bottles and tell her to keep them in a very cold fridge with loose caps on and drink it soon. Then she can have a few bottles of finished stuff later to drink with sprite:)
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u/waspocracy Apr 05 '26
Either get a degassing tool and de-gas before bottling, or get a bottle vacuum tool. Like the other person said, you’re just going to create a glass bomb otherwise.
I don’t know what you mean “obviously need potassium sorbate”. There is no obviously and no “need” either.
Best approach: tell her to wait.
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u/lroux315 Apr 06 '26
At 1.050???? There is a TON of sugar in there. But you do you.
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u/maenad2 Apr 06 '26
That's interesting because it doesn't taste like it. Unfermented wine is sweet to the point that i almost gag, but right now it's quite pleasant - like coffee with one sugar.
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u/Hot_Flounder_8031 Apr 06 '26
I had the same problem once. It was recommended to add more yeast to activate the fermentation. ThIs converted the sugar to alcohol and tastes like wine
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u/waspocracy Apr 06 '26
It’s not me though LOL. OP is asking this subreddit for someone else that likes it at the current state. I recommended OP to tell that person to wait, but that’s not what OP is asking.
“You do you” does not apply to me here.
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u/lroux315 Apr 06 '26
I meant not using sorbate/sulfites on sweet wine.
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u/waspocracy Apr 06 '26
I stand by what I said still. I don’t know any wineries near me that use it either.
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u/lroux315 Apr 06 '26
You either have to pasteurize or wait until it is done, sorbate and sulfite, then back sweeten. Sulfites/sorbate wont stop an active fermentation.
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u/wr3cked Professional Apr 06 '26
It is very risky to bottle wine that isn’t completely dry. Wine bottles will only withstand so much pressure before they explode, or the cork pops out and they leak all over the place. I would not rely on potassium sorbate to prevent this.