Am I making vinegar?

[karrlot]

My first batch of wine is chokecherry wine.

My next post will be the copy of my process for making this wine. You'll see at the end that my wife thinks the wine in the 1/2 pint jar smells like vinegar. My dad isn't sure. I don't think it does. I think it tastes like strong alcohol.

Would you be so kind as to read through this and tell me if you think I am making 4 gallons of vinegar or wine? What should the wine taste like at this point? Can I do anything to save it?

Thanks for any input you could provide.

 

[karrlot]

Batch 1 - Chokecherry Wine
This was my first batch. This is the batch I may have contaminated because I wasn't steralizing everything. I was very inconsistant in my steralization.

I am using the recipe on Page 92 of The Joy of Home Winemaking

3 1/4 qrts water
2 1/2 lbs sugar
3 lbs cherries
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp tannin
1 Campden tablet
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 packet Montrachet yeast

Day 1 8/3/2012
I didn't want to buy a fermentation bucket so I tried to make this in my carboy. I shoved all of the cherries through a funnel into a grain bag which was inside the carboy. I tried to smash them as I was pushing them through the funnel. I thought I was going to make 4 gallons, so I boiled 10 1/2 lbs of sugar into two quarts of water and poured it into the carboy. Then I added 8 more quarts of water. But I didn't have enough room to get a total of 4 gallons of water in the carboy, so now I have way too much sugar.

I added 2 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient and 1/2 tsp of tannin.

Day 2 I put in one crushed campden tablet.

S.G. 1.154

Day 3
I moved it to a fermentation bucket. I could not get the bag out of the carboy so I had to try to tear it in the carboy to get the cherries out. It took forever to get all of the cherries out of the bag which was inside the carboy, and then get the cherries out of the carboy into the fermentation bucket, which is what I should have been using in the first place if I wasn't so cheap. I used chopsticks and stabbed the bag to rip it. Merkin took video of it. Merkin said it looked like I was stabbing the uterus of a sasquatch.

I added 5 qrts of water
2 tsp of pectic enzyme
3 campden tablets

Specific gravity is at 1.10

Put on air lock


Day 4 added Montrachet yeast in a pint of water
Removed air lock

Day 5
Lots of bubbles but no foam
I put the bucket into Dad's bathroom behind the tub. I think the temp is still above 78.
I stirred it.

8/8/2012

This morning Sarah and Dad told me that Dad's bathroom stunk so bad they thought they were going to throw up. Phil said either me or the wine had to go. He didn't care which one.

Last night I left the air lock off. This morning I realized that Phil was going to stink up that bathroom every day so I decided to put the air lock back on.

Tonight I took my cool new paddle into stir it. I took off the lid and air lock. It was bubbling a lot, but no foam. When I stirred it, it bubbled even more. The color is gorgous red - it reminded me of bright red rhubarb. Merkin said the smell reminded her that I had made root beer one time. She was very concerned that this was going to taste like the root beer.


The air lock is bubbling at least every two seconds.

I put a new fermometer on it. It is not registering so either the fermometer is broken or the must is above 78 degrees.

8/9/2012
The bathroom still stinks.
I stirred it. Still a gorgous red.
I checked the temperature of the cellar and it is at 75 degrees with the outside temp in the 90's.

8/11/2012
Stirred it up. Bubbly but no foam.
SG 1.060
moved it to the basement where the temp is approx 70°

8/14/2012

Temp 70°
S.G. 1.042
According to cathy - it smells like fermenting fruit
Stirred it up a bunch

8/20/2012
Temp 67º
SG 1.022

8/25/2012
SG in Primary bucket was 1.016

I poured the wine into a 3 gallon carboy through the strainer in the funnel.
It filled up the carboy, a one gallon jug and about a pint. The pine is mostly sediment.

SG in carboy 1.010.

Smells very strong of alcohol and yeast
Taste:
Cathy - it tastes more like beer than wine
Phil - All I can taste is the yeast
Joel - Tastes like a strong wine, but can still smell and taste the yeast
Crystal - Hell no!

9/3/2012

Brought it up from the cellar.
3 gallon carboy has about 1/2" of sediment.
1 gallon jug has about 1" of sediment, (this was from the bottom of the primary so it has more sediment)

Both are fermenting strong. Fermentation has picked up since I brought it upstairs to be warmer.
Volume of 3 gallon has expanded from the lowest ridge on the neck about 1/2". Fermentation has picked up also.

3 gallon is airlock is bubbling aprox 4 seconds.
1 gallon airlock is bubbling approx 13 seconds.

SG 1.000

Taste:
joel - tastes like a lot of alcohol
Phil - Can't tell if i'm tasting yeast or chokecherries

Smell
Joel - smells like alcohol
Phil - smells like yeast
Cathy - smells horrible

Racked into 3 gallon and 1 gallon
Topped up with 4 cups of water
SG 1.002
Put it back in the cellar.

Also got 1/2 pint jar out of the lees.

9/7/2012

Wine is still fermenting.
Smelled the 1/2 pint:
Joel: I have no idea
Crystal: Smells like vinager
Phil: Smells yeasty.

Taste:
Joel - like alcohol
Phil - maybe like vinegar or maybe like chokecherries
Crystal - hell no

 

[karrlot]

Knowing that I didn't sanitize everything on my first batch and I may have ruined it, I didn't want to wait 18 months to find out it was ruined, so I made a second batch. This batch has a less sugar and more fruit. Here is the 2nd batch. They have very different tastes and smells.

Batch 2: Chokecherry Wine
Bucket#2

Currently in the bucket:

20 pounds of chokecherries
16 cups of sugar
17 quarts + 1 cup of water
4 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp tannin.
4 Campden tablets


8/8/2012: Day 1

I am using the same recipe as Chokecherry #1 except I am making a 4 gallon batch and using 5 pounds of fruit per gallon.

I went across the street from Ma and Pa's house to pick chokecherries. The biggest are on a tree across from Mrs Fees house and down behind the tennis courts.

I sorted them out and washed them. Only keeping the black cherries.

I washed the bucket, lid, air lock, and my new paddle in soap and water. Then I crushed two campden tablets and put them in a pint of hot water. I dumped that into the bucket, put the lid on and swished it all around the inside. I then soaked the air lock and paddle in it and let them air dry.

I put 15 pounds of cherries in the bucket. Then I smashed them with the potatoe smasher, which I forgot to sanatize. I poured 6 quarts of boiling water on them and continued to smash them. I poured 6 more quarts of boiling water on them. Then I took 5 more pounds of cherries and put them in a pot. I put on some gloves and started smashing them between my fingers. That was a mess. I would guess half of the berries didn't get smashed. I put them into the bucket and pourd 2 more quarts of boiled water on it. That is a total of 20 pounds of cherries and 14 quarts of water. The level in the bucket is a skosh over 5 gallons.

I added:
4 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp tannin.

I stirred them in with my new paddle.

The sediment in the bucket looks like it is up at about 3 gallons.

I left the bucket sit with the lid laying on top of it with no air lock.

8/9/2012

After the must cooled down over night, I took the specific gravity. Its very hard to measure it because there is so much fruit floating in the must. It measured at 1.025. My goal is to get it to 1.09.

Online I found that 1 cup of sugar raises 1 gallon of liquid .018.

I calculated that I needed 14.44 cups of sugar. I boiled two qrts of water and added 14 cups of sugar.

The specific gravity was then 1.085. I boiled another quart of water and added two more cups of sugar.

I desolved four campden tablets in one cup of water and mixed it in. I will take the S.G. before I pitch the yeast tomorrow.

I stirred it with my paddle that was sanitized in campden solution.

The bucket is still in the kitchen and I think the temp is over 78°.


I left it with the lid laying on it, but not sealed.

8/10

SG is 1.085
Temp is 78°

Reconstituted yeast in cup of water for 20 minutes.
Pitched the yeast and stirred it.

8/11
Stirred it up. If I knew what a foam cap was, I would say it has a foam cap.
SG 1.082
moved it to the basement where the temp is aprox 70°

8/14
Stirred it up a bunch
SG1.032
temp 70°

8/20/2012
Stirred it up a bunch
Temp 67º
SG1.006

8/23
SG in the primary was 1.004.
I bought a big funnel with a filter.
I got a 2 cup measuring cup and scooped the must out of the primary and funnelled it into the 5 gallon carboy.
The SG in the carboy was 1.002.

There is only about 4 - 4.25 gallons in the carboy. I'm trying to decide if I should top it up with juice and sugar water.

8/25
Added 9 cups of chokecherry juice that had previously been frozen,
2 quarts of water
4 cups of sugar.

SG's:
wine before - 1.004
juice - 1.04
sugar water 1.13
wine after - 1.022

put under airlock back in basement.

Smell - a little like wine
Taste - not sure, maybe tastes like wine.

9/3/2012

About an inch of sediment in the bottom.
Still fermenting strong, airlock bubbling about every 6 seconds.
Has big chunks floating around it.
I racked it into a bucket, then back into the 5 gallon carboy.
SG 1.003.

I added 4 cups of water to top it off to about 1/2" below the lowest ridge on the neck.

Taste:
Joel - Tastes like wine that was opened yesterday. Not smooth. Not sweet.
Crystal - I just woke up and feel sick, I'm not tasting that crap!
Cathy - It tastes like red wine, which I don't like, so I'm not a good judge.
Phil - It still tastes a little yeasty.

Smell
Joel - Nothing really
Crystal - It smells like wine.
Cathy - It doesn't smell like anything
Phil - It still smells a little yeasty - it needs to go longer

 

[karrlot]

Anyone?... Anyone? ...Bueller? ...Bueller?

 

[Julie]

Thanks for the detail description it helps but also understand since it was so lengthy I am not going to comment on all of it. Here is what I picked up so far.

First batch,

Even though sanitation was not your strong point I'm thinking it will probably be fine. Always start your wine, especially a fresh fruit wine, in a primary bucket and do not snap down the lid and do not put an airlock on it, until after sg is down to 1.010. Not all wines are going to foam up, so don't worry about that just make sure you have plenty of room in the primary for that situation. Fresh fruit wines need to be stirred at least once daily. Don't worry about the airlock bubbling, use your hydrometer and above all else stop tasting the wine until it is done fermenting.

At this point all you need to do is check your sg to know when it is done fermenting. Once done fermenting, rack and add a campden tablet

I haven't read your second post, give me time.

 

[Julie]

Second batch:

When you need to get some of the must to take a reading place a strainer in the must and push down slightly, then you can syphon off what you need.

I"m a little confused on your readings. If you were at 1.085 and added more water and sugar, you should of had a higher reading but the next day you said your sg was 1.085.

You need to purchase a racking cane. I know you are trying to keep cost down but there are some equipment and supplies you just have to have, this is one of them.

When you put your wine into the carboy why did you add more sugar? If your wine is still fermenting you do not need to worry about topping up, you do this when itis done fermenting.

 

[karrlot]

Julie, thanks so much for reading all the way through it. I did get a racking cane and bottle filler. The reason I used the funnel is because there was so much pulp and fruit it plugged up the cane. I also bought a mesh bag so i have it on hand for my next batch!

On the 2nd batch I was also cofused on the SG reading that didn't change after I added more sugar. After I took the second reading I double checked it because it was the same. I must have messed up on the first reading.

When I racked it from the bucket to the carboy there was only about 4 gallons so I added juice, sugar, and water to bring it up to 5 gallons. If it is still fermenting it doesn't matter what the level is? I assume that is because the CO2 pushes out the O2?

 

[karrlot]

Can the airlock still bubble if it is done fermenting?
Should i be stirring it every day in the carboy?
Do i add campden every time i rack?
Is it one tablet, or one tablet per gallon?

Thanks again!