Sweetening of White Wine

White wines are often made into a sweet style. This is most readily done by the home winemaker by the addition of sugar to the finished wine. Wine bottled with sugar and not intended for immediate consumption will need to contain a preservative such as sorbic acid to prevent secondary fermentation by yeast. Secondary fermentation in a bottled wine can lead to cloudiness, gassiness, off odors and the explosion of the bottles. Sorbic acid, usually added as potassium sorbate, inactivates but does not kill yeast. The wine should have a relatively low population of yeast (brilliantly clear). The effectiveness of sorbate is enhanced by the presence of ethanol (greater than 10%) and free SO2. If SO2 and ethanol are at the proper levels, sorbate additions in the range of 200 to 250 ppm are suggested. Sorbate has some sensory properties and may be objectionable to some wine drinkers at the levels used in wines. Sorbate has little activity against bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria can degrade sorbate, producing a compound that has a strong off odor (geraniums) associated with it. Considering all the pros and cons of sorbate usage, home winemakers are best advised to sweeten their wines immediately prior to consumption if a non-dry wine is desired, rather than to store a sweet wine preserved with sorbate.