Grapefruit ferment tastes spoiled!

[non-grapenut]

Update on the Odorous Grapefruit Wine

Hey, all.

I tried so many things to try to get rid of that musty, spoiled smell from a bentonite slurry, copper pipe stirring, even charcoal filtering...the smell did tone down a bit, but I am still unable to drink this wine. It's the most beautifully brilliant wine I have ever made!

I had some strawberry wine I made earlier that was too sweet, so I mixed the two and I FOUND HEAVEN! The tartness of the grapefruit offset the over-sweetness of the strawberry. The strawberry essence overpowered any musty smell and turned the dark red wine to a very clear pretty pink. The result was similar to a fruit zinfindel. OMG.

Lesson learned: NEVER throw any wine away, even if you think it's a failure, because it may just blend with another lacking wine, making 2 wrongs a right! I love this craft!

Thanks for all your guidance,
Lynn

 

[non-grapenut]

UPDATE on Grapefruit wine!!

It really COULD be h2s, but I really don't have the experience to recognize or test for it. After splash racking it last night, I wondered if maybe the yeast was just going bad, giving it that smell due to being stressed with the extra-busy fermentation. Thanks for all this guidance...tips for testing for h2s would be helpful. I will search all threads..

I opened 2 quarts of this grapefruit wine for blending that I stashed away in January, and OMG!!! This stuff is amazing! Slightly sweet and no more off smell, sparkling clear and light yellow. NEVER GIVE UP on a ferment that has an off smell, guys! Sometimes, time heals some wines. I look forward to making another 5 gal. batch with grapefruit season coming back in! I just won't max alcohol it this time..thanks for all your guidance, guys.

 

[xanxer82]

Thanks for your feedback, Wade E. I REALLY don't know what I am doing and I am using books and printed Internet recipes and instructions to wing it as I go--probably the way most of the people in this forum have learned to make wine. Now that we know what the problem IS with this batch, just how do I get rid of the acetic acid? Any ideas? EVERYONE: I promise to never do this again. This was my first experimant in maxing alcohol levels.

Experiments should never be a 6 gal batch. grab some 1 gal jugs an some number 6 stoppers and experiment away.
also pick up an acid test kit.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

you can get high abv with lalvin 1118. it's good to ~17%. just start with high sg and make a starter for it. i know we've had a few get to ~13% when we used to follow recipes closer (added almost all the sugar before testing the sg).

I agree with wade on post #14.

^i also agree with the above post about getting an acid tester. a good digital one is best, IMO. although, we usually make 3 gal batches of "fun" or others call them "experiments." have had some pretty good luck lately with them too.

ngn, nice to see it all worked out. you will learn make and save wine over time. you just need to remember the 3 p's and try to keep your wine consistent in how you do it. over time, adjust your habits with what works and then enjoy the fruits of your labor!

 

[arcticsid]

Excellent!

Good for you Lynn,

We here in here, over and over, where people jump to the conclusion that a wne is bad because it "doesn't taste good" in the first few weeks. It is further expressed to have PATIENCE.

Many people in here have said that they didn't give up and allowed the wine to do it's thing and were surprised to see the transformation that took place by following the main rule of PATIENCE. As has been stated by many others, some wines may take a year or more before it becomes an "adult". Some wines may be great for drinking in 2 months, most will not! As I am sure you know by now, there are many factors that effect this "growth" period. I am GLAD you didn't give up!

I sure hope your initial "scare" hasn't detered you from the enjoyment of making your own wine. Looking forward to hear what you have done since.

Good to hear from you again.

Keep on keeping on!!!

Troy

 

[xanxer82]

Glad to hear that it turned out. maybe it was just a 3 P's thing.

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

Glad all turned out ok with your original grapefruit wine... any particular reason you used Montrachet yeast? It is a good yeast (or they wouldn't be selling so much of it) but I have read several threads that recipes using Montrachet have put fear into the hearts of men, mice, and women. It is a notorious hydrogen sulfide producer in the early middle stages of fermentation. Did you ever notice that the description of Montrachet states that it has a high tolerance for hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide? It has to! It is a good yeast for someone who doesn't panic when the smell turns south... I am not patient enough to use it.
Nice thread... teaches patience to newbies. Take care.

 

[kiljoy]

Oh Yea, I tried my grapefruit wine and almost fell on the floor. I remember reading that this stuff needs some aging, so I sweetened and stashed for a few months. Probably the best wine I’ve ever made.

 

[mainecr]

I made a gallon test batch of grapefruit...and gave it all away by mistake. I was told it was wonderful at 1 year and back sweetened to 1.015. It did have a off taste when bottled at 6 months. Waiting for batch 2 and 3 to mellow out. Three more months to wait.

 

[Wade E]

I have not been following this post but am very glad to hear that the smell went away all on its own and that you have found yourself with 2 great wines out of it!

 

[BettyJ]

Reading this post reminds me of my first batch of rice wine - it smelled sooo rank and tasted even worse. I bottled it anyway (it was a small test batch) when it cleared and opened one 6-8 months later and it is divine. I have also had fruit wine that tasted and smelled great in the carboy turn a little "funny" after bottling (sort of an oxidation or slight metal type taste - others don't seem to notice it).

Conclusion: I am no scientist / chemist, but there is a lot of chemistry going on in that wine.

 

[GlassDream]

I hate bumping old threads but I think this one deserves a bump. I know a lot of newbies will learn a lot from it. I for one threw away a couple of batches because they tasted weird. Who knew that they could have turned out awesome?

So what exactly happens in this process? I read this one and I was wondering if it has something to do with a "bad batch" turning into a good one?

Ethanol fermentation is specifically the process of converting sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose into energy, producing in this process ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products.

Source:alcohol fermentation

 

[SouthernChemist]

I hate bumping old threads but I think this one deserves a bump. I know a lot of newbies will learn a lot from it. I for one threw away a couple of batches because they tasted weird. Who knew that they could have turned out awesome?

So what exactly happens in this process? I read this one and I was wondering if it has something to do with a "bad batch" turning into a good one?



Source:alcohol fermentation

There are many different organic compounds in a wine (some naturally present from the particular grape or fruit and others produced by the yeast during fermentation and introduced by oak). The actual amount of these compounds does not have to be very large...in fact, it could be quite small. Essentially, though, you have functionalized organic compounds sitting an aqueous solution containing both acids and ethanol. Slowly, over time, reactions occur that will inevitably affect the taste and perception of the wine. When someone says that their wine now has a nice aroma where it did not the last time they tasted it, reactions have occurred that created new violatile compounds within the wine. Really heavy and tannic wines are aged to allow the tannins to 'soften', etc.

Basically, you can just think of that carboy or bottle of wine sitting there as one big reaction vessel. It takes time, though. The chemistry keeps happening long after all the sugar has been fermented.

 

[non-grapenut]

I think that it was the type of yeast I used initially with this grapefruit, Pastuer Champagne...I have noticed off smells when the wine is new with this type of yeast and it clears with aging.