WineXpert Soapy taste and aroma

I'm on my 6th kit since last November, the whites are fabulous, but the two reds that are bottled both have a 'soapy' aroma and taste to them. I made a VR Pinot Noir, and a VR Luna Rossa. The Pinot has been in the bottle for four months, and the soapy taste and smell are much less than the first one we opened, but I'm sensitive to it now and can still detect it. Any clues? Too much SO2 at bottling? I'm a long-time beer brewer, so I'm pretty confident my handling methods are very clean.

Thanks for any feedback.

Scott

Just to follow up, this soapy taste went away after about a year in the bottle, and I have not had the problem with other red wine kits. Still not sure the cause, but all my kit wines have greatly benefited from extended bulk aging and time in the bottles. So far there doesn't appear to be a big difference from the cheaper kits ($60-$80) and the more expensive ($100 and up) when given time to age.

Glad that soapy taste went away. Thanks for the update.

Age makes wine better, except for that one that I didn't stabilize and they all blew up.

I'm noticing the same thing with a WE Selection International Brunello. Granted, it has only been in the bottle 6 months but I would call it undrinkable at this time. I'm putting it away for at least another 6 months and possibly a year before I try another. I hope this ages out.

thinman56 said:

So far there doesn't appear to be a big difference from the cheaper kits ($60-$80) and the more expensive ($100 and up) when given time to age.

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What differences do you see? I would expect the more expensive kits to have more density and better mouthfeel regardless of age.

I work part time for a winery and one of the first things I have learned is constant smelling and tasting. Seems all brands of paper filters have a paper taste until they are completely rinsed. So we run water through everything and continually taste until the water from the filters tastes no different than the tap water. Sometimes this takes a long time.

I have been using the mini jet at home for almost two years. Today I followed the instructions and did my tasting with the #1 pads. All went well. Filtered two carboys of wine. No problems. Everything taste tested good beginning to end.

Then rinsed everything out, soaked the #2 pads and put everything together. It smelled nasty and tasted nasty. So I ran more water through. I didn't put my wine in, just tasting the water. It didn't improve, so I pulled it apart and tossed those and put in a new set. Same results. This time I completely disassembled everything, rinsed, sanitized and put it back together and put my third and final set of #2 pads in. Same result. Smells bad and tastes bad.

After that I took the pads out and let them drip dry. Then put them in a solution of citric acid and potassium metabisulphite solution. Let them sit for about a minute. Then started running water through them again and right back to the same odor and taste.

I called another winery that sells the supplies and they have never had a complaint like this before.