After taste

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cal1230

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I am new to wine making but have already completed two kit batches and a third batch made from 5 gals of juice I was given as a gift. I followed the kit directions and juice recipe but was not completely happy with my results.

Batch 1 was Vinters Reserve Shiraz
Batch 2 was the juice experiment (recipe and juice were from Chalet Debonne, Maddison, OH)
Batch 3 was Vinters Reserve Pinot Noir.

My question/concern is although all three batches were good, they were not as smooths as I would like them to be. (All three wines have a bit of a sharp after-taste that I would like to get rid of in future batches.) I am not sure what I am did wrong, or what I need to do differently for future batches, to rid my wine of the after-taste. (By "sharp after-taste" I mean that it almost tastes like grape juice that sits in the refrigerator too long and begins to ferment.)

One last thing that may be of note. I am using an older 5 gal carboy and all three kits were 6 gal kits. However, my local wine shop said there should be but no overall impact to the recipe by using the smaller carboy other than disposing of the excess juice after primary fermentation.

I joined this forum in hopes of getting some good advice and hopefully learn from the community. Thanks for the support.
 
The main question here is how long have these wines aged? The kits state they are ready to be botled after a shrt amount of time but like any wine they really need at least 6 months minumum for them to smooth out. Bigger red wines need much longer like 1 year or more.
 
Is the sharp taste from CO2? I think some people have called that a sharp taste in the past.

Steve
 
If it were CO2 the taste would be more of a tingly sensation - almost like a soda.

Did you sulfite it? Was there an over exposure to oxygen after primary fermentation - could be oxidizing. Although that would also depend on length as oxidation wouldn't set in real early.

So that would lead back to wade's question - how long have they been aging?
 
We simply need more information.
When did you start the wine?
What was the starting SG?
What was the final SG?
Did you degas the wine using a drill mounter mixer or a spoon?
Did you add K Metabisulfite? How much did you add if you did?
Did you add K Sorbate? How much did you add if you did?
Did you bottle them? How long have you aged them?
 
Age is certainly one of the problems. As I am sure you all know the kits recommended waiting a month before drinking the wine, but did suggest that the wine "... will improve even more after three months!" In addition, my local wine shop said that kit wines are not intended to age for a long period of time (e.g. age 1-3 mos. and drink within the year). Bottom line is that I started enjoying my wine 1 month to-the-day I bottled it.

We simply need more information.
When did you start the wine? Sorry, I do not recall
What was the starting SG? Sorry, I do not recall, but it was within the range recommended by the kit
What was the final SG? Sorry, I do not recall, but it was within the range recommended by the kit
Did you degas the wine using a drill mounter mixer or a spoon? The first batch was by hand and then I bought a drill mounted mixer for batches #2 and #3
Did you add K Metabisulfite? How much did you add if you did? Yes, the packets that came in the kit for batches #1 and #3/ as per recipe for batch #2 (1/2 tsp/1 gallons)
Did you add K Sorbate? How much did you add if you did? Yes, the packets that came in the kit for batches #1 and #3 (exact quantity unknown), and as per recipe for batch #2 (2 tsp/5 gallons)
Did you bottle them? How long have you aged them? 1-3 mos as per instructions

Thank you for the replies.
 
Definately age longer. My first kit we started drinking after about 2-3 weeks. Had a bottle 6 months later and it was a totally different taste. Still have one bottle left will have that for Thanksgiving dinner when it will be a year old. Our second kit was a Chianti. I have about a dozen bottles of it left and it is alomost 8 months old. Getting better with time. I would say that in general, someone new will not make it a year with their first few kits. This is partly due to the excitement of the hobby and also due to the fact that you will drink it faster than you can make it.

You will find that most on the forum will bulk age thier wine (kits or juice) for almost a year. If not bulk aging they will bottle and set aside for that long or longer.

The after taste you are experiencing will likely disipate as the wine ages longer. That is if it lasts that long....:dg
 

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