How long does a wine take to stabilize before I can back sweeten? (Skeeter Pee)

Hi there,

I just made my first batch of Skeeter Pee. The instructions say to let it ferment dry and then add the Sorbate and Sulphite along with the Sparkloid.

It then says to wait 2 weeks for the Pee to clear before back sweetening. Well that Sparkloid worked wonders because the Pee is crystal clear after 72 hours. I can't see it getting any clearer than this.

Am I able to sweeten early? Or should I give it the full 2 weeks to let the stabilization happen? Is this unnecessary?

Thanks!

Personally I would wait the two weeks. Your SP might be clear but you still have a bunch of live yeast in the lees at the bottom. Since stabilizing doesn't actually kill the yeast (just stops them from reproducing), if you back sweeten too early the yeast you do have could feast on the new sugar. So I would wait, rack it off the lees, and back sweeten as per recipe.

Ryan

I always backsweeten and stabilize at the same time. You should wait a few days before bottling just to be sure you didn't mis-count the amount of sulfites in a drunk'n stupor but otherwise there isn't any reason to wait, the sulfites will stop fermentation immediately.