Taste at First Racking

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chettd

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I sampled the wine to see how it tasted and wasn't impressed with the taste after the first racking. It tasted very yeasty (word?) Will the taste improve after it has time to settle in this carboy over the next several weeks? Also if I want to sweeten the taste do I do that right before I bottle, or when should I sweeten it to the taste my wife prefers?

Also I have an airspace question. I made a five gallon recipe by my carboy is a six gallon. What should I do with the air space in this carboy?
 
Give it some time.. There have been wine that I bottled after 6 months and wasnt too impressed.. Its tough but wait at least 6 months before a true test.. Will be best in a year maybe more..
 
The wine is still VERY green. You just racked it so let it do its thing.
If you made a 5 gal recipe you need a 5 gallon carboy.
Post the recipe so we can help more you are to vague.
 
Wine at first racking will almost always have a yeasty/chemical taste.Don't panic. Wine needs to go thru many stages to become excellent. Rushing will only yield unsatisfactory results and disappointment.

When you rack after it has cleared it will be better but still far off. As Tom says Patience. I know this is easier to say than do but trust me you will be very happy you did.

Can you top off with a similar wine. Headspace of air can create problems.
 
As for the sweetening part, stabilize with k-meta and sorbate, wait two weeks, then sweeten as desired, wait two weeks and bottle..

Another option is to ferment til dry and add non-fermentable sugar to sweeten with and you only have to wait two weeks...
 
As a noob myself..I will add what I have learned here..Taste your wine through its stages. I will help you learn.. Taste it, as you have done on the first rack or "transfer". My first batch was harsh at the first transfer "6 days..alcohol yeast bitter ect.". Then I racked it two weeks later "and sampled". It was tart, a bit bitter and not very good. My wife said it tasted thin..I was worried..Then I racked, degassed, stabilized, added clarifier and sampled again..Wow, its starting to taste like wine! And wife says "much better, not too bad, not as thin". After 5 weeks it tastes pretty good. Still not crystal clear, but on its way. All I can say with my brief experience is, wine changes a lot in a short period of time. And time only seems to make it better. Ten fold..Be patient..It will pay off..
 
I'm a noob too. And, boy the first tastes of the few wines I've made so far have been down right nasty. Flavor pack and back-sweetening as needed has helped. But, what really has amazed me is the flavor improvements that have happened over time!

Connie M.
 
Most wines will change dramatically from the time its done fermenting to within 1 year, some will even take longer but please dont ever dump a wine until youve at least given it 1 year. Red grape wines and Meads are the biggest time consumers but have the most to offer by giving them this time needed to mature.
 

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