First batch of wine Help

[RedneckBrew]

So I tried to make wine out of juice concentrate and it smells sour and taste sour... I’m sure I did something wrong...i fermented them in bucket with lid cracked open and towel over tha for a week then transferred to an air locked carboy let set til I didn’t see any bubbles coming to surface of wine... so if their is nothing wrong with that process.. then I just need to dump everything and try different 1gal recipe.

 

[jgmillr1]

Sounds like your wine went down the road to vinegar somewhere along the way. There are many opportunities for microbes to get a foothold. I suggest you always use a sealed container with an airlock if possible. If you are doing a concentrate, there is no reason you can't start it out in a carboy, let it ferment to completion and settle, then rack to another carboy. Once it is done fermenting, you will want to add sulfites (1 crushed campden tablet per gallon) and keep the head space minimized to prevent oxidation.

If you work with crushed fruit, you can still use a bucket with sealed lid and airlock until you press it.

If you have specific questions on sanitation or your wine-making process, please post and we'll be glad to help out. Cheers!

 

[hounddawg]

what type/flavor did you use, if most anything but grape I'd check the SG and add some sugar, most all country wines need sugar to bring out the flavor,
Dawg

 

[RedneckBrew]

Ok so I will seal it next time at start... try from there... I did pineapple honey... prolly start 2 1gal ones this week... shoot for pineapple honey again and maybe just a mead. Have buy a new cylinder to use hydrometer since my glass one broke.

 

[Rembee]

1) Are you making wine or mead?
2) Are you adding the honey or is it premixed into the pineapple juice?

 

[winemaker81]

When I hear "sour" I think of my dad -- he doesn't like "sour" wine, e.g., dry red. He also doesn't like really sweet wines, so he purchased Gallo Burgundy and Gallo Port, and mixed 'em. Some may laugh, but it's a very pragmatic approach.

I'm with @hounddawg, non-grape wines need a bit of back sweetening to bring out the fruit. In my experience, all taste sour or astringent without a bit of back sweetening.

Wine making is a patient person's game. The wine that you taste immediately after fermentation completes is NOT going to be good. Doesn't matter what you're fermenting, it's not going to be good. That same wine will change as the wine clears, e.g., the sediment drops, and it will change month-by-month over at least the next 12 months. Most reds, some whites, and a few fruit wines need at least 24 months to develop.

If you haven't dumped the wine, DO NOT do it. You have time to let the wine clear and age a few months, to see what develops.

If you want something to drink immediately, search this for for Danger Dave's Dragon Blood and Skeeter Pee.

 

[hounddawg]

@winemaker81 is dead right on. as stated above, sour and astringent is a stage of your or anyone's wine, that is the very reason you must taste your must/wine every time you do anything, it's like muscle memory, you learn what off taste, what yuck is going to make a fine mature wine, the journey may suck but the destination is heavenly ,,,,
Dawg

 

[Rice_Guy]

@jgmillr1 suggests vinegar (acetic acid) (volatile acidity) if it is, a diagnostic is it easily volatilizes if microwaved 45 or 60 seconds. The smell should remind you of vinegar or salad dressing. The books say a little adds complexity therefore it is good, ,,,, and lots is bad..
I have taken high VA wine to a vinters club meeting and would say roughly half the members didn’t complain.
Dawg is correct sugar (combined with potassium sorbate preservative) fixes acidic taste from fruit acid and acid we add when making a mead (high Titratable acidity).
There also is acid produced from yeast (carbonic acid) and this is removed by degassing CO2. Time with an airlock also fixes it. A quick test for this flavor is to microwave an ounce for 45 seconds then stir which should produce lots of CO2 foam, ,,,,, cool to room temp and taste it again.

 

[VinesnBines]

First, follow Rice_Guy's suggestion about testing for volatile acidity. Most wine has some VA and there is a very fine line between enough and to much VA. Also, some medications will make a person more sensitive to VA. I'll gag on a wine that others think is fine or even good.

Wine making is a patient person's game. The wine that you taste immediately after fermentation completes is NOT going to be good. Doesn't matter what you're fermenting, it's not going to be good. That same wine will change as the wine clears, e.g., the sediment drops, and it will change month-by-month over at least the next 12 months. Most reds, some whites, and a few fruit wines need at least 24 months to develop.

If you haven't dumped the wine, DO NOT do it. You have time to let the wine clear and age a few months, to see what develops.

Second, I'm with winemake81; don't dump it. Most wine just after fermentation is sour and bordering on nasty. That's why I encourage tasting as your wine ferments and later ages. The changes should be entered in your notes so next go round you have an idea what to expect.

 

[hounddawg]

Ok so I will seal it next time at start... try from there... I did pineapple honey... prolly start 2 1gal ones this week... shoot for pineapple honey again and maybe just a mead. Have buy a new cylinder to use hydrometer since my glass one broke.

i use my wine thief for my checking vessel for my hydrometer,,,
Dawg