Stabilizing after malolactic

I have a batch of Cabernet Sauvignon (grape juice from Chile) working.

It's clearing nicely. About one month after transferring to the secondary, I racked it again and started malolactic fermentation about 2 months ago.

It's nicely clear (and a gorgeous purple color). I want to rack it -- probably for the last time -- at the end of the month.

I'm a little confused about stabilizing it, though. I have read some confusing reports on whether sorbate would ruin it after malolactic. Should I just stabilize it with campden tablets at this next racking?

I figure then to degas and bottle it after a couple more months. Does that make sense?

Rack, degas, add sulfide. DO NOT add sorbate, it will create an off flavor.

Normally, you only stabilize (add sorbate) to wines that you will be sweetening. Since you won't be sweetening this wine, you wouldn't add sorbate anyway.

If you were sweetening the wine, you could add sorbate along with sulfites, when MLF is completely done. You just don't want to add sorbate before/while MLF is going on.

You probably won't even need to degas this wine, just let it degas on its own with some time and it should degas naturally. I'd just sulfite at the next racking, and then again at bottling.

Yooper said:

If you were sweetening the wine, you could add sorbate along with sulfites, when MLF is completely done. You just don't want to add sorbate before/while MLF is going on.

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Curious to why this is. To my knowledge, mlf shouldn't be affected by sorbate because mlf is performed by bacterial fermentation and not the original yeast. The sorbate shouldbt affect the bacteria at all. Am I not informed?

divi2323 said:

Curious to why this is. To my knowledge, mlf shouldn't be affected by sorbate because mlf is performed by bacterial fermentation and not the original yeast. The sorbate shouldbt affect the bacteria at all. Am I not informed?

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Oh, it doesn't affect it in the sense it will interfere with it or slow it down. But the sorbate itself during (and some say after, but I don't know that for sure) MLF will cause a compound called geraniol.

This smells strongly of geraniums and will ruin the wine.

Interesting. Never knew that. I figure its better safe than sorry in this instance then.