Concord wine with harsh or hot finish

[blueflint]

Hi everyone,

I am new at wine making but have made hard cider a few times and I am an accomplished beer brewer. My current project is a 5 gallon batch of concord wine. This was started on March 16, made from Welch's Concord Grape juice with 7 pounds of crushed seedless grapes (black). Original brix was 16.5, I added enough sugar to bring it to 20.5. Ph was tested at 3.4, I added yeast nutrient and used Red Star Montrachet yeast. I punched the cap twice a day and racked at 1 week. Fermentation bucket thermometer never went over the mid to high 70's. It has been racked one other time and it is in a glass carboy. I just checked the ph (3.6) and tasted a sample and it has a nice Concord nose and nice flavor but has a hot finish which I was surprised at. What's this about? Will this soften with age? At 11-12% alcohol, I am surprised at this "burn". Is there anything I can do to soften this? What can I do in the future to prevent this? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tony

 

[Pumpkinman]

Sounds like it needs to age a bit.

 

[wineforfun]

I agree with Tom. I think time will be your biggest asset right now. Check it in 3-4 months and I bet it will have mellowed quite a bit.

 

[jswordy]

^^^ wineforfun knows, too! I believe he has a greater thirst for Welch's than even ME!

For his accomplishment, I award him one

 

[blueflint]

It is at 4 1/2 months old right now. I racked it to a clean carboy as it has cleared up nicely and to get it off the sediment/lees. I added 1 ounce of medium toast oak chips and will let it go 30 days and check it again.

I feel it was the sugar addition I made to bring the Brix up from 16.5 to 20.5 which needed 1 pound 14 ounces. Maybe? It was within the limitations I have read.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks, Tony