sour smelling must

[bhmjones]

I'm wondering if my first batch of wine is ruined. I started it on Dec 22, and the SG was 1.055. It fermented like crazy the first 3 1/2 days judging by the amount of burping the airlock was doing, then over the next 3 days the burping slowly disappeared. That whole time I had it sealed with an airlock and was not stirring nor did I open the lid.

I posted a thread here asking if that was normal and was told it probably was ok and to measure the SG. I did and it was 1.000 on Dec 27, five days after beginning fermentation. The next day is was down to .992 and is still at .992 as of this morning Dec 29. The kit tells me it should be around .998 at approximately day 14 and that is when I would need to begin the finishing process.

The reason I wonder if it ruined is that it has a slight sour smell, but doesn't taste as sour as it smells. Actually tastes sort of bland.

Do you guys think I need to wait the entire 14 days to rack, or go ahead now? And is the slight sour smell anything to be concerned with?

 

[Arne]

Sounds like you have fermented down to dry. Give it a couple more days and if the sg stays the same, you can go ahead and rack it, sulfite it, sorbate it, if you like fine it, and after a few more days sweeten it. If you take another little taste of it, put just a little sugar with it. It should help. If it stays weak, you might want to use some concentrated juice when it comes time to sweeten. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[bhmjones]

Sounds like you have fermented down to dry. Give it a couple more days and if the sg stays the same, you can go ahead and rack it, sulfite it, sorbate it, if you like fine it, and after a few more days sweeten it. If you take another little taste of it, put just a little sugar with it. It should help. If it stays weak, you might want to use some concentrated juice when it comes time to sweeten. Good luck with it, Arne.

Thanks for the advice. But allow me to ask, what if the SG does not stay the same?

 

[Julie]

Thanks for the advice. But allow me to ask, what if the SG does not stay the same?

At .992 I really doubt it will change, this is as low as any wine I have made has gone. Arne gave you some very good advice, just follow what he has told you.

 

[Runningwolf]

I also agree with Julie and Arne.

 

[bhmjones]

Thanks peeps

 

[bhmjones]

Well that batch of wine turned out excellent, even despite the fact that it fermented to dry so soon. It was a 28 day kit wine and I like the fact that I didn't have to wait the entire 28 days to enjoy it..... my neighbor thinks its the best wine she ever tasted.

Well now I'm into my 5th day of another kit and this time I did not seal the lid and I have stirred it nearly every day, as well as I added about 4lbs of sugar on day one to bring the sg up to 1.90, as of today the sg is already down to 1.000 and smells more sour than I remember my previous batch smelling.

Is this smell anything to be concerned with?

 

[robie]

Well that batch of wine turned out excellent, even despite the fact that it fermented to dry so soon. It was a 28 day kit wine and I like the fact that I didn't have to wait the entire 28 days to enjoy it..... my neighbor thinks its the best wine she ever tasted.

Well now I'm into my 5th day of another kit and this time I did not seal the lid and I have stirred it nearly every day, as well as I added about 4lbs of sugar on day one to bring the sg up to 1.90, as of today the sg is already down to 1.000 and smells more sour than I remember my previous batch smelling.

Is this smell anything to be concerned with?

You didn't say which kit and you didn't mention the type of yeast you used.
It is most likely just fine. Different varieties with different yeast produce different smells. Some fermentations smell really nice to me; others don't, but they all seem to finish out just fine. As long as it is not a rotten egg smell, you are OK. Just follow the instructions that came with the kit.

 

[bhmjones]

it is the Cru Orchard Breezin kit, and I'm unsure what the yeast was, just whatever comes with the kit...... this kit is a different flavor than my first kit which might explain the difference in smell, however that may not be true since as I understand it, the must is supposedly some sort of grape juice common in all their kits, and the flavor comes from the finishing blend that you add on day 14..... allow me to ask what would be wrong if it did smell like a rotten egg?

 

[cpfan]

RJ Spagnols kits have always come with EC-1118 yeast.

Steve

 

[bhmjones]

RJ Spagnols kits have always come with EC-1118 yeast.

Steve

Well doing a quick google search on EC-1118 and looking at this resulting web site http://www.lalvinyeast.com/strains.asp I can now see why my must ferments to dry so quickly.