Slightly overwhelmed.

[TommBomb]

Im sorry for the frequent questions here guys. I was asking earlyier about calcium carbonate addition. Well, now it seems like i completely screwed my batch of strawberry wine. Did a TA test on the the wine, its completey fermented with a SG of .996. I first calibrated the sc300 and began the TA test. I used a whole syringe (5mls) of Titrant (.133 N) and still didnt get a ph of 8.2 which is what is required. I ended at 6.90. Is this batch toast? Its too bad, i spend more than a few hours washing and destemming strawberries as well as steam juicing the strawberries...


Jeff

 

[TommBomb]

The thing i dont understand is the ph of the must at this point is 3.57 yet i have a rediculous amount of tartaric acid.. how is that possible. Shouldnt the ph be way lower?

 

[Julie]

One step t a time, since it is done fermenting make sure you rack it to a carboy if you haven't and sulfite. I won't worry to much about the acid at this point. Leave it alone for the next 3 months and then check. It needs tomdosome aging, at this point adjustments should wait until later. This will also give you some breathing room to get a better handle on winemaking. The wine is not toast!

 

[TommBomb]

Ok.. lol. I know im getting a little worked up. So rack it and make adjustments later?

 

[Pumpkinman]

I agree with Julie, rack it and step away from it for a little while.
The biggest mistake is that as new wine makers, we learn so many ways to adjust our wines, we get really eager to diagnose issues and use this new found knowledge to adjust our wine, when in reality, time is our friend, most of the time the wine will taste really tart or acidic, when it is really just "green", it needs time to age.
Most adjustments should be made pre fermentation if needed.

 

[TommBomb]

will do, i over did the acid blend from the start. ( 4.5 teaspoons of acid blend for about 4 gallons of strawberry wine must). Then i went ahead and added 2 teaspoons of calcium carbonate to balance mid fermentation. The must tastes sour... ughh. thanks you guys i appreciate it.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Tommbomb, I did the exact same thing to my first 2 Juice buckets, I was able to save one with bioless, it actually mellowed the overwhelming acidity, it took two months, but the wine was saved. The other, a red wine, I put through an oak barrel, this too mellowed that overwhelming acidity, maybe it masked it, whatever the case may be, the wine is now drinkable.
I would highly recommend letting the wine age for a few months, if you need to sulfite it, go ahead, then put a stopper and airlock on it and resist the urge to mess with it.

 

[Calamity Cellars]

Winemaking rules to live by:

1. Forget the numbers, go by taste.
2. If in doubt...don't.
3. Taste, taste, taste.
4. Patience. When you can't wait any longer....wait longer anyway.
5. Taste, taste, taste

 

[Julie]

LOL, I would safely bet that the majority of us when we first started out made mistakes and worried constantly that we screwed up our wines. Wine is very forgiving and doesn't necessarily spoil that easily. The sour taste you are probably tasting is the fact that the must is now totally fermented out, no sugar left so it would taste sour. Leave it age for a few months and in the meantime, start something else.

 

[FABulousWines]

Winemaking rules to live by:

1. Forget the numbers, go by taste.
2. If in doubt...don't.
3. Taste, taste, taste.
4. Patience. When you can't wait any longer....wait longer anyway.
5. Taste, taste, taste

6. Repeat step 4 as often as necessary. Then repeat again.

 

[Turock]

Tomm---In the future, don't add acid to strawberry wine. It never needs acid. Take a pre-ferment reading with a PH meter. If you make the wine from all juice, or whole berries with no water, you'll want to get the PH to something above 3.4 so the acid bite on the wine is reduced. Reduce the acid with calcium carbonate.

If you DO have a PH of about 3.5 on this, that's a pretty good range in spite of the mistake of adding the acid. I'd let her sit in a carboy--rack when needed-- and age for about 9 months THEN evaluate it. It's mighty difficult to evaluate a young wine.

I know it's hard not to panic--especially since strawberry wine is kind of expensive with the price of the fruit. But mistakes lead to learning--sometimes it's hard to get your wheels fully under you before you try a ferment. You almost have to get in there, and get your hands dirty before you understand what you're doing. Mistakes are part of the learning curve we ALL have suffered thru.

 

[TommBomb]

Yea lesson learned i suppose. I was under the impression to adjust pre-ferment, and the juice was straight strawberrry no water dillution. My initial ph was 3.7, and i thought, if i could drop it to 3.5 i would be happy. It took 4.5 tsps to bring it down to 3.5, and i ended up with 4 gallons of juice. Which seemed odd to me it took so much. How many of you guys adjust ph pre-ferment?

 

[Julie]

You are right TommBomb, it is always better to adjust before fermentation but you need to have your numbers where you want them before adding the yeast. Once fermentation has started just sit back and wait it out, trying to do any kind of adjustment while the yeast are converting sugars to alcohol, is like a boss coming in while his workers are busy doing a job and wanting them to go and do something else, all you are doing is pissing them off, lol.

 

[TommBomb]

Im beginning to wonder if maybe i spoiled this batch due to a sanitizing problem, or lack of it. The Ph was 3.6 all said and done, and it tasted very sour.. is this a possiblity? It fermented for 5 days it that makes any difference

 

[Julie]

The wine is not spoiled, please believe me, you just need to let it sit for the next three months! It is sour because there is no sugar in it, the sugar has all been converted to alcohol. I strongly recommend that you go to our tutorial section and read on how to make wine. You really are not doing anything that bad, just be patient

 

[TommBomb]

ok thanks.. im officially done stressing. i do appreciate the feed back guys. Ive made 5 kits now and a batch of dragons blood that turned out really good. But yes back to the books i think would certainly benefit me.
Cheers

 

[Julie]

If you have done five kits and a batch of dragon's blood then you are not without some knowledge. I can understand the feeling of being overwhelm, you just need some more confidence in yourself. I think you are a better winemaker than what you are giving yourself credit for.

 

[Turock]

Wow--I've never seen strawberry with a beginning PH of 3.7!!!!!!!!! I can see why you added some acid.

Like Julie said----allow it to age. You really can't evaluate such a young wine. It's still full of CO2 which really interferes with the flavor. We give our strawberry about 9 months of aging before we consider bottling it. Be assured----it will change ALOT in that time frame. I'll just bet you'll be very happy with it by then.

A ferment lasting 5 days is completely "standard." I think you are stressing for no good reason--just take a deep breathe and go have a glass of wine.