7 day wine kit - progress so far and question about taste

[OhEmGee]

I posted on the intro board yesterday and spent all day reading through the forum picking up helpful tips, and wanted to post my progress so far and ask a few questions.

I've started out with a 7-10 day 23ltr pinot kit from wineworks (no racking or secondary ferment required)

Primary fermentation took a while as I struggled to maintain the temperature in my old, draughty house (start SG 1073). After 8 days I tasted my wine (SG 1015) and it was very sharp with a slight fizzy burn on the tongue. I panicked and thought I'd ruined it as I had no idea what it should taste like at that stage!

After 12 days my SG stayed at 995 and the taste had improved so yesterday I siphoned the wine into the other container, added the stabiliser and I'm de-gassing my wine as per the instructions (it's still quite frothy).

Today I'm supposed to add my finings and then leave for 24 hours to clear.
I've had another taste this morning and it's still quite sharp with a little hint of a burn (no tingle or fizzing) and a pretty clean aftertaste...so, my questions are;
Is the burn coming from the remaining CO2, and will that continue to die down as the wine ages?
If my wine still tastes sharp after it's cleared, what's the best way to tweak the taste...can I simply add juice or sugar?

Any help appreciated!

 

[Toque]

Hi OhEmGee, I by far am no expert, but I do have opinions. Some say too many and mostly wrong. Anyways.
First I think this 7-10 day kit is kind of cool. Especially for a first kit because too many people get over anxious and want stuff now and now. So this could probably get you a product to enjoy rather quickly.

As far as your questions, the gases will definitely die down with time. As far as the sharp taste that could be the alcohol needing time to mellow out and meld with the flavors. You can back-sweeten with juice or sugar (simple syrup) , but in this case I would let the kit do what it was meant to do. You may back-sweeten and realize that in 6 months it's crazy sweet. Time is your friend in making wine.
If you want to, try sweetening by the glass first.
Even with the 28 day kits they say it's drinkable at that time, but age does wonders.

I make kits and fruit wines and some fruit ones still aren't right 2 years later. I think you will be just fine and it's good to worry, to a degree and always ask questions. I'm sure the more learn-ed will pop in and give you great advice.
If you decide to sweeten, make sure you stabilize first.

 

[DoctorCAD]

For a beginner, you sure do "get it".

Congratulations, the perfect questions and your assumptions are spot on.

I think you are on your way to a lifetime of better and better wines. You've come to the right place to learn, make us all proud.

 

[OhEmGee]

Thanks guys, I guess it comes from being a bit of a worrier! It also helps that I'm off work for two weeks over Christmas so I've got plenty of time to read up on all the different terminology, techniques and recipes!

I was drinking a stunning sancerre the other week and if I can get to the stage of creating something as amazing as that I will be a very happy bunny!!

 

[calvin]

can u really make a wine in 7 to 10 days? or is that just how long it takes to ferment?

You could make wine in 7-10 days. Chances are it would never be clear and ready to bottle. Even dragon blood or skeeter pee takes a minimum of 15 days. I try to leave mine in a carboy for at least a month after it looks crystal clear to prevent sediment in my bottles. You will learn that patience pays off when it comes to making wine

 

[OhEmGee]

Just a quick update on my first wine kit!

Racked my wine and degassed for 2 days, then added my finings and it cleared really well after 5 days. According to my kit instructions I could have bottled at this stage but there was a lot of sediment so I've racked it into 4 small glass carboys so that I can tweak the final taste in small batches and filter out any remaining sediment before bottling. Going to leave it alone for a month now and see what happens, just hope the taste improves!

The sample I took tasted ok and I wasn't expecting anything amazing but it does just taste like cheap wine.

I'll report back in a few weeks before bottling!

 

[bkisel]

What are you going to use to filter out the sediment? Maybe just racking and leaving the sediment behind is the way to go.

 

[OhEmGee]

Not thought that far ahead yet! I did have some issues using my siphon and managed to disturb quite a bit of sediment by accident, which is why I thought there may be an easier way to filter the wine when transferring to bottles later on.

Should point out that my issues with the siphon were down to me being so short and putting my bucket on the kitchen work surface!! Maybe I need a footstool!

 

[richmke]

I did have some issues using my siphon and managed to disturb quite a bit of sediment by accident

Position the intake (end of tube) in the top 1/4 of the wine. That way, if wine flows backward in the tube, there is little, if any, disturbance of the sediment.

 

[OhEmGee]

Hi Guys, I'm back and I am one happy bunny!

Back at the beginning of the month I racked my wine it into 4 small glass demijohns and stashed it in the cellar.
I was worried about the taste at that point but I had a taste on Friday and couldn't believe the improvement in such a short space of time! The tingly burn has gone and now it just has a clean, crisp taste. It's only come out at 7.8% so not overly strong but it should make for pleasant spring / summer drinking without the hangover!

So today I've been busy bottling as much as I can and it will all go back in the cellar for another month...although to be fair it's pretty good already and I've managed to neck an entire bottle already!

Ok...so, now to research my next brew!! Hubby says he fancies a pear cider!

 

[Toque]

Nice, I'm glad you were successful on your first batch. My first time making basically went down the drain, 6 gallons.
That was probably the longest '7 days' of your life. It shows a lot you took your time and made it right.
Good luck on your next batch.

 

[4x15mph]

Emma, you mentioned that you had difficulty keeping the wine at the required temps. My house is colder than 72 degrees in the winter so I use a brew belt (heater) on my carboys and buckets. You might like this option

 

[OhEmGee]

Emma, you mentioned that you had difficulty keeping the wine at the required temps. My house is colder than 72 degrees in the winter so I use a brew belt (heater) on my carboys and buckets. You might like this option

I'm already on it and have purchased a brew belt for future brewing

 

[4x15mph]

I'm already on it and have purchased a brew belt for future brewing

Just a note around the brewer belt. As luck would have it, I discovered that one of my belts (blue) has melted through the case and looks to have shorted out/burned...??? I was checking on my carboy (plastic) which is in a dark closet and I smelled a weird burning smell.... That is a bit scary since I don't know what could happen if I hadn't caught this but I think a fire is definitely possible.

On the belt that I have, the cord pulls the belt tight and there is a black cap on the end that was coming loose. That may have been the start of the problem but I have really only used it a couple of times.

Anyway, I need these belts for winter brewing so I searched for a replacement. I see there is a version out there where the plug/cord is not what holds the belt around the carboy but there is a spring. I like that design and I will give that a try. FYI only and be careful