Curious

[Wannabe]

As a newbie to all this, I am curious as to if and when a wine should develop a taste of what it's made of. For example, I've made a apple-cranberry wine. I did it before finding this forum so did pretty much everything wrong. Having said that, it hasn't really aged very long. If things are done properly, from what I've read, at some point I might be able to taste a hint of either cranberry or apple. I did follow a recipe but it never mentioned degassing, backsweetening or aging before bottling. Do you think I might be able to detect those flavors at some point and if so, how long would it be after bottling

 

[AlFulchino]

depends on the wine....ph, acidity and alcohol (among others) often inhibit *recognizing* what wine you have while its developing.....heck....even after it ages those same factors can make it unrecognizable

 

[Wannabe]

That`s what I was afraid of. Man, for something that`s easy in theory, this is a complicated hobby!

 

[Tom]

If it was real easy everyone will make wine..

 

[wvbrewer]

It won't hurt to let it age and see how it changes.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Country wine makers have a hurdle to get over when sharing their wine.

A mistake some people make is confusing fruit flavor and sugar. If your wine ferments dry, you may still have the flavor, but the sweetness will be gone. The best example I can think of is if you ask people to describe the flavor of chocolate, they may make the assumption immediately that it's delicious and sweet. Chocolate itself (baker's chocolate) that isn't sweetened is bitter, but certainly tastes like chocolate.

If I make a fruit wine that will be getting served to "inexperienced" wine drinkers, I'll often add some sweetening back in after it's finished. A good example is my peach wine. Left dry, it tastes like peach to me, but not sweet at all. Most of my little old lady relatives though, think that a good peach needs to be juicy and sweet. If you tell them it's a "peach wine", they'll develop a mental image of peaches and what they taste like. If I don't add some sugar, they don't think it tastes like peaches.

With traditional grape wines, you can get away with dry ones because when you serve someone a glass, they're looking for what they think a glass of WINE should taste like rather than what a handful of fresh grapes would taste like.

An experiment you can try that is similar is mix up a batch of Kool-aid without the sugar. Tell your guests it's cherry Kool-aid. See if they like it. Add some sugar, even if it isn't the full amount, and you'll get a different reaction.

 

[Brian]

Lon you are the man. I have been trying to figure out a way to explain this to some of my friends and you have done it perfectly.. Thanks

 

[Wannabe]

Thanks Lon. That makes perfect sense. I'm not a huge fan of anything too sweet to begin with and this stuff was bottled before I knew backsweetening or F-packs even existed so it is no doubt very dry. It has been bottled for about 3 months now and I was trying to figure out when I might sample it to see if it is drinkable and if I might expect to be able to catch a hint of either the apple or cranberry. It's been in a "cold room" (I am in Canada) so may be mellowing a bit. At 6 months, do you think I'd catch a hint of what it was made from? I'm not looking for it to scream Ocean Spray cranberry or anything but trying to figure out realistic expectations

 

[robie]

Country wine makers have a hurdle to get over when sharing their wine.
.....

Good post and something to think about, Lon. Thanks

 

[sly22guy]

First Lon's reply should be a sticky in the beginner section! Very good explanation!
Second yeah I'd say 6 months is the min u should age. Get some packets of Splenda and if it doesn't have the taste u were expecting add a little in a glass and try.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Thanks Lon. That makes perfect sense. I'm not a huge fan of anything too sweet to begin with and this stuff was bottled before I knew backsweetening or F-packs even existed so it is no doubt very dry. It has been bottled for about 3 months now and I was trying to figure out when I might sample it to see if it is drinkable and if I might expect to be able to catch a hint of either the apple or cranberry. It's been in a "cold room" (I am in Canada) so may be mellowing a bit. At 6 months, do you think I'd catch a hint of what it was made from? I'm not looking for it to scream Ocean Spray cranberry or anything but trying to figure out realistic expectations

On a dry wine, often the fruit will be more evident on the nose. Noses aren't so easily fooled by the lack of sugar. If you're getting the fruit elements coming out in the aroma, you likely just need some more aging...... and maybe a little sugar.

 

[RedNeckWino]

I have not heard of one mentioned yet, but pick up and learn how to use a hydrometer if you have not done so already. Once you pour a glass and sweeten to your liking, you will want to take an SG reading and bring the rest of your wine up at least close to this. If you decide to un-bottle any just to sweeten them, put them all into one carboy for a few days with an airlock. Make sure they are stable and don't start to re-ferment before bottleing again.

 

[mxsteve625]

I agree. Lon's explanation should be in the beginners forum. To me as somewhat a beginner that explanation makes a whole lot of sense.

BTW: Where is spell check on this thing. NEver mind I spelled sense right

 

[Wiz]

I'm not an expert but I do know what I like. I finish dry and add just enough sugar to take off the edge. I also only make fruit wines. I can tell the fruits I used at first racking. After bottling and aging for 6 months I can smell and taste the fruits as an aftertaste.

 

[Tom]

I'm not an expert but I do know what I like. I finish dry and add just enough sugar to take off the edge. I also only make fruit wines. I can tell the fruits I used at first racking. After bottling and aging for 6 months I can smell and taste the fruits as an aftertaste.

U should try adding a f-pac. What a difference in fruit wines.