Ahk! Rotten egg in Mosti All juice!

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ou8amaus

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Started a Mosti Mondiale Sonoma Edition Petit Syrah on Nov 8th. 6gal refrigerated all juice with crushed grapes. Fermentation had already started when I got the bucket so I do not know what the starting SG was, but it went from 1.062 on my day 1 to 1.018 in 4 days. At that point (and per the instructions) I racked to a carboy, and as specified I racked over the deposits as well. Circumstances were such that I was only able to re-racked it and sulphite it 4 weeks later (SG= .998) and now the whole house reeks of sulfur. Been making wine kits for maybe a decade, and have never come across this (new to refrigerated juice). After reading a bunch of previous posts I figure that I left the wine too long on the gross lees, or that there were some under nourished yeast that have produced this nasty odor. Wine smells bad, and even worse the wine tastes bad (sulfur). Is there any hope to salvage this? Splash racking seems to be the first recommended treatment if caught early enough, but with the taste already being affected... And is this definitely my mistake or do i have cause to go back on the LHBS/Mosti for a refund (They do guarantee their pails). Much appreciate all help!
 
Just keep in mind that it can also take multiple applications of Redulees since enough time has passed that the wine tastes like rotten eggs.
Redulees can strip a little bit of the wines character as well, but if you can save the wine we can help you get the wine back to its intended "glory".
 
Try the splash racking a few times. It can do wonders. If that doesn't do the trick then get some Reduless post haste.

Thank you for your help! I have tried it a few times and so far no improvement... To clarify I have been racking under vaccum using the AIOP with the degassing tube attachment (so wine cascades down the side of the receiving carboy) ... is the effect the same when "splash racking" whether it is done under vaccum or not?


Just keep in mind that it can also take multiple applications of Redulees since enough time has passed that the wine tastes like rotten eggs.
Redulees can strip a little bit of the wines character as well, but if you can save the wine we can help you get the wine back to its intended "glory".

Thank you for the feedback! I have yet to find Reduless in Canada, so I might have to get it shipped from the US...


UPDATE
My LHBS has advised me to bring them a half liter sample so they can send it into Mosti for lab analysis... At this pointt I have little to lose.
 
So I dropped off a sample at my LHBS and they are sending it off to Mosti for lab tests... Along with their own sample! Seems more than just my bucket was affected... LHBS is sure this was caused by bacterial infection...
 
UPDATE: Mosti is still reviewing the samples, but my LHBS was nice enough to go ahead and give me a credit for the full value of the "infected" kit. Great service! So with the credit I picked up a Cellar Classic Rosso Grande (on sale for $90.00) and some more oak... Feeling a little "once bitten-twice shy" about the fresh juice option now. I have a feeling this is the last I will hear about this, but if Mosti ever comes back with an official response to what happened to the jus then I will pass on the info. I still have not dumped the stinky wine, something in me adamantly refuses to give up on it. Maybe I try to rack it again tonight...
 
Update. I racked the sulfurous wine back in January into a funnel lined with sanitized copper scouring pads. I racked it again a week later. Then I threw in 2 cups of med toasted oak thinking it might mask some of the stank. Well, I just racked it again today and no sulfur smell! Actually, tastes pretty awesome. Strangely not much oak considering how much I added, and it has a very slight sour aftertaste that I will try to age out, or add a little sugar... but glad I stuck it out!
 
Try reduless next time. You will be surprised. Cheers

I tried getting my hands on Redulees, but I live in Canada and the only online stores that sell it are in the US. They were asking between $15-20 just in shipping for the tiny envelope. Could not justify it. I even tried calling the closest Scott Lab office in Canada but they only sell it in bulk quantities. Maybe I should buy in bulk an become the Canadian distributor to homebrewers... :h
 
try morewine here are the directions



Yes we do ship internationally via the US Postal System and can ship internationally via FedEx, generally we don't ship Freight unless you call / email customer service to pre-arrange. When we ship internationally we do not have a system to cover taxes and duties in your local area so those will be collected by your local agents when the items get to you.
 
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try morewine here is the directions


Thanks for the suggestion, but they are one of the sites charging an arm and a leg for freight. At checkout they want to add $23.30 to ship the Redulees to Canada by FedEx. By USPS they are charging $32.18. The actual item only costs $6.95 and weighs 30 grams!!!
Mind you I cannot really single them out as all the sites I have gone to charge in the same ballpark.
 
Strangely not much oak considering how much I added, and it has a very slight sour aftertaste that I will try to age out, or add a little sugar... but glad I stuck it out!

Be sure to add some sorbate if you sweeten.
 
Update. I racked the sulfurous wine back in January into a funnel lined with sanitized copper scouring pads. I racked it again a week later. Then I threw in 2 cups of med toasted oak thinking it might mask some of the stank. Well, I just racked it again today and no sulfur smell! Actually, tastes pretty awesome. Strangely not much oak considering how much I added, and it has a very slight sour aftertaste that I will try to age out, or add a little sugar... but glad I stuck it out!

glad it all worked out for you! We don't encourage use of copper here but I too was going to resort to a copper scouring pad, couldn't find Redulees anywhere else, but another member here referred me to morewine glad he did they have some awesome products I couldn't find anywhere else:b
 
it has a very slight sour aftertaste that I will try to age out, or add a little sugar... but glad I stuck it out!



Try aging it out before adding sugar.. this is from experience too it's amazing what aging in the carboy will do for a wine
 
Sound advice. It has already been in the carboy for about 3-4 months, I figure I will give it a taste in three months and make tanin/oak additions, along with a racking and a KMeta dose, and then another three months before I make any back sweetening decisions.
 
Nor sure if anyone out there is still following this thread, but I wanted to provide a final update! I racked it twice over the last 6 month's, and finally bottled it just before Christmas. Personally have to say it now ranks up there with some of my best wines. Nice body, great aroma, big smooth tannins... and No SO2. I am calling this one Pepe after the skunk. All is well that ends well.
 
I just read it. It's nice to see a thread run a course.

Did the lab get back to you, or is it a waste of time to even send it?
I'm just curious if there was a something wrong with the juice to begin with.
 
No word back from Mosti. I have a feeling they just shrugged this off as a loss and moved on. I doubt they any testing of my sample beyond MAYBE smelling it. My Lhbs thought there was something wrong with their whole batch... mystery!
 
Glad it worked out well in the end. Time is (usually) a good friend to have around the winery!
 

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