Hello.
I am making (1 gal) strawberry wine from fresh-picked strawberries (4 lbs). I started by heating up the strawberries to about 200 for 30 minutes and let it naturally cool down in enough water to cover them. I added the sugar (2.5 lbs) and dissolved it when it was hot. My starting SG was 1.100. Now, it smells like vinegar and the SG is .990. It tastes very alcoholic and bitter. No strawberry taste at all. I suspect it is soured and need to start over and write this up to experience. Was cleanliness the likely problem? I would have thought the heat would have killed anything that might have been in it.
I am making (1 gal) strawberry wine from fresh-picked strawberries (4 lbs). I started by heating up the strawberries to about 200 for 30 minutes and let it naturally cool down in enough water to cover them. I added the sugar (2.5 lbs) and dissolved it when it was hot. My starting SG was 1.100. Now, it smells like vinegar and the SG is .990. It tastes very alcoholic and bitter. No strawberry taste at all. I suspect it is soured and need to start over and write this up to experience. Was cleanliness the likely problem? I would have thought the heat would have killed anything that might have been in it.