I am attempting to make wine for the first time using Spanish Black grapes harvested from vines. I have completed primary fermentation and am on the second rack of my secondary fermentation with an airlock on my 5 gallon carboy. I am at the point that I am almost ready for fining, stabilizing, and back sweetening. My question for the other home wine makers is this...

What comes first, the clarification (fining) process or the stabilization process? Does order of operation really matter at this point?

I have Super Kleer for the fining process, and the Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate for stabilizing. I want to make sure I add items in a correct order to maximize quality and clarity of final product...if order matters.

Thanks.

Sorry you didn't get any responses for a few weeks, so this response is probably too late to help you. I generally stabilize immediately after completion of fermentation (or if arresting fermentation prior to completion). I then start the clarification process.

Thanks for the feedback, but I already moved forward with fining. Based on the variety of other sources I read, it seemed like order of fining and stabilizing was not a big deal. I decided to add the Super Kleer for fining and racked the wine to another carboy after about 3 days to degas and stabilize. I plan to break the batch up into approx 5-6 bottles of dry wine, 10-12 bottles of semi-sweet/semi-dry wine (table wine), and 5-6 bottles of sweet/dessert wine.

Again, I appreciate the feedback.