Peach wine - what do I do now?

[destroyer-of-fruit]

Been reading this site...it's the best thing on the web about wine.

This is my first batch of wine. I grew the peaches and everything.

The wine has been racked off the sediment a few times the last nine weeks (when I started), and has been unracked in the carboy for about three weeks. I have not added anything to stop the fermentation. It cleared up a couple of weeks ago. The times I tasted it, it was ok, but tasted kinda flat.

1. Do I need to add campden to stop the fermentation to begin aging it, or has the aging already begun?

2. What can I do about the flatness?

3. How do I know when to add campden and begin bottling? Do I have to bottle it in order to age it?

Anthing else I should be asking at this stage?

Thanks

 

[upper]

DOF you are right about this site.I am a newbe but here goes.You need a hydrometer to find out specific gravity and a Reciepe for starters.....Upper

 

[arcticsid]

DOF, sounds like everything is on the right track. You should be ready to add campden)sulfite and sorbate right now. If I understand correctly, you may not need sorbate unless you plan to "back sweeten" before bottling. Only your hydrometer can tell you for sure. I think it was Wade who suggested take a reading 3 days in a row to make sure it is low enough that it has fermented out completely. I'm quessing by this point it is! Would hate to have you reply back and tell us about exploding corks.

After you add the additional sulfite and sorbate let it sit overnight and degass it. This can be done by a vigorous stirring, but they make "whips" that will attach to a drill. I have heard of people using a coat hanger section to do this, but avoid the metal ones, if you go this route make sure whatever it is you stick in your wine is sterile, either by soaking it in some sulfite solution, or, like others have suggested, have a spray bottle of this solution, hit your stirring rod and wait a minute. It has been reported that while degassing you may get some "volcano" action that could make a mess. Just so you are warned!

As for flatness I thnk that could be corrected by an acid adjustment. I am not extremely familiar with that but I am sure some of those more experienced will be happy to chime in.

No need to do anything drastic right now, if it is under airlock you should be just fine until you decide to bottle, and it sounds like you are at this point.

You have been patient so far to get to this point, so please be patient just a little longer, sounds like you have a nice batch of wine going.

How much did you make, do you have enough bottles ready for it?

Best of luck, keep us posted, we'll sure help you get to the next step.

Troy

 

[destroyer-of-fruit]

Peach wine - what do I do now

Thanks for your responses.

I started at a SG of 1.08, last time I checked three weeks ago it was .995. It's been at .995 for 6 or 7 weeks. It just didn't clear, so I left it in the closet until it did...

I have never degassed it. Is that critical? It's in a six gal carboy. Over the rackings, I have added distilled water. Now I wish I would have kept the lees, because the last time I did keep them, and they settled down a lot and left a lot of clear wine. So I drank it. Wasn't bad either, but flat..Next time I will keep it and use it to top up the carboy...but...could, shoulda, woulda at this point...

Does adding water make it flat?

Can I count the last several weeks as aging time?

I don't have ebough bottles yet, but I'll buy some if I have to.

How long can I leave it in the carboy.\? It's airlocked. But there's a little sediment at the bottom (mayne 1/8 inch)....

What else should I be asking? I'm flying blind this first time...

 

[destroyer-of-fruit]

peach wine - what do I do now

And forgot...

I did test the acidity, and it was about .6 which the box said it should be. So I didn't add acid..

Thanks for your advice..,.

 

[Tom]

OK RACK
Then Degas!
Then add Potassium Metabisulfite and Sorbate
Add clearing agent
wait 2-4 weeks "Taste"
If still flat I would suggest you back sweeten with simple syrup to your taste. (2 parts sugar to 1 part water.. I use spaghetti jars)
Whats the recipe? That would help..

 

[Wade E]

Do as Tom stated with the exception of the fining agent as I believe you said it was already clear. .6 for a fruit wine is a little low and is probably why its a little flat along with adding the water which probably brought it down even further. White a nd fruit wines are better around .75! Sweetening this wine with a simple syrup or even better by using some fruit juice from fresh squeezed peaches and then condensed will really bring the wine back to life. Wines are almost always better with age but that doesnt have to be done in a bottle and carboy aging can do the same but you will need to add sulfites every 3 months to avoid oxidation especially with Peach and Apple wines. I use ascorbic acid in these along with sulfites to help protect them from this.

 

[Luc]

I just wonder.

If the wine has enough flavor I would not add any sugar.

If the wine needs a 'bite' I would take a sample out, add a teeny bit of acid and taste.
And I do bet there were no tannins added in the recipe.
You might add tannin and then age the wine for some extra bite......

Luc

 

[destroyer-of-fruit]

Wade E - Nice Glock - Is that a Mod 19? I have one just like it...

Back to wine.

I will increase the acid and taste again. You mentioned "condensing" the peach juice. What does that mean? (Sorry)

If I bottle it, does that mean that I DON"T have to add sulfides every three months to prevent oxidation? If not, then why the difference between the carboy and the bottles?

I don't have the recipe with me right now, but I'll post it later so I can maybe get a critique...

 

[St Allie]

I'm with Luc,

Peach needs tannin and a bit of citric acid, also, it's a pig of a wine to degas..takes a lot of patience before bottling.

Wade mentioned 'condensing'..another way to phrase his intent, is 'reducing'.

You simmer the peach juice until it is reduced in volume, to about half the original amount. this intensifies the flavours and sugar content before adding the sweetener to your wine.. you have removed a large amount of water and added flavour back, without adding a large quantity of unneeded water, which would dilute the alcohol content of your finished wine.

Allie

 

[Midwest Vintner]

it's always a good idea to keep alot of different size bottles. a little extra air on top won't kill a wine, either, just not too much. i never add any water, but i have many different size containers to rack into, also.

"flat" seems like there wasn't enough additives as luc and allie have described. i would follow luc's advice and check some other recipes to see what the differences are compared to what you made. time is a on your side. let it age and it will get better, how much, depends on how you tweak it now.

 

[goclarkanderson]

I wish I could help you with this. But, I learned from your experiences.

 

[destroyer-of-fruit]

Thanks for all your input.

How do I know when the wine is sufficiently degassed? I plan on doing this with a long stirring spoon. Will that be a problem?

When does the aging of the wine start? Has it already started?

I checked the recipe, and the info on the packages suggests more tannin. I'm going to add tannin and acid as suggested earlier. Can I add these, and degass and *** sulfites all at one time?

 

[bob1]

Just degas it and let it set. Wait till the gas is gone then taste it, Like 9 months from now, then taste it, might want to drop the tannin in now. Wait till ready to bottle and adjust taste. Once that gas is gone its going to taste totally diffrent.

 

[destroyer-of-fruit]

HELP - (again..) Wine wont clear ??

My wine was clear - but...

Nov 3 - I added sulfites, sorbate, and also added some acid and tannin, because the wine tasted flat.

The wine was still cloudy Dec 11, so I added isinglass. Now Dec 26, it's still as cloudy as it ever was.

What do I do now? Do I wait it out?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

Did you add Pectic enzyme? It may be pectic haze or even the tannin that is still suspended? Whats the temp?

 

[TB1]

Peach has allays been a hard one to clear for me. it usually take's close to a year. I just sulfate it once in a while during that time.

 

[Wade E]

If it was clear though then I dont think its pectin. What is the temp, sometimes cooler temps work to help but if you added a fining agent in cold temps they usually dont work well at all.

 

[destroyer-of-fruit]

the temp should be around 65-70. It's in a closet in my house.

I didn't add any more pectin.

It WAS clear before I added these final ingredients.

I have a programmable thermostat in my house. During the day or middle of the night, the house goes down to 60 degrees sometimes, if its that cold outside. Warms up before I get up and before I get home.

I don't have a thermometer on the carboy though.

I don't want to wait a year.

 

[Tom]

I agree with Wade. Try to move it to the coldest area you have.
Do you have any sediment yet from the isinglass?