On Jan 17, 2:40*pm, Mike McGeough > wrote:
>
> BTW Pp, even the 250ppm level isn't effective at stopping an active
> ferment. I forgot to add the benzoate to a jug of my "sweet reserve"
> juice 'til it was too late. When I did, it had no noticeable effect on
> the yeast, which was probably 71-B. *Refrigerated and settled, it did
> stop and made a really nice sweet sparkler for immediate consumption.
>
> Mike McGeough
>

Yeah, that was my case too, only on finished wine. My general
procedure for sweeter whites is to stop the ferment by putting the
carboys outside into cold, racking, sulphiting and fining and leaving
outside until the wine clears, then filtering and adding benzoate/
sorbate and bringing back inside to check for activity. With the
60-70ppm level that I used last year, the ferment got going again, so
I had to take the wine out again and add some more benzoate and
actually some sorbate as well in the end. After all the additions, I
ended up with a higher total level than if I started with the 250ppm
in the first place. A good lesson overall.

After Lum's comments though, I'm starting a hunt for Actistab, that
one sounds even better...

Pp