Strong gas smell after clearing??

[pightr]

Wine is done clearing now and when I took my sample out to check the wine for clarity and it is perfectly clear when compared to a store bought wine. My question is I tasted some of it and smelled it while in the glass and in the carboy, it still has a very strong gas smell and TAStE!! Is this normal and it just needs to age? or did I not do a good enough job degassing it and just need to degas it some more? I am ready to rack off the lees and age in my other carboys but not sure what to do here. Please help!!

I am using a vintners reserve white zinfandel kit. All of the time lines are up with the instructions and say to bottle it right now already but I wanted to age it for awhile before bottling it.

 

[abefroman]

Wine is done clearing now and when I took my sample out to check the wine for clarity and it is perfectly clear when compared to a store bought wine. My question is I tasted some of it and smelled it while in the glass and in the carboy, it still has a very strong gas smell and TAStE!! Is this normal and it just needs to age? or did I not do a good enough job degassing it and just need to degas it some more? I am ready to rack off the lees and age in my other carboys but not sure what to do here. Please help!!

I am using a vintners reserve white zinfandel kit. All of the time lines are up with the instructions and say to bottle it right now already but I wanted to age it for awhile before bottling it.

What type of gas does it smell like? Natural gas? Gasoline?

Degassing it is suppose to get rid of CO2 which is oderless.

 

[pightr]

What type of gas does it smell like? Natural gas? Gasoline?

Degassing it is suppose to get rid of CO2 which is oderless.

Haha umm good question then. It still smells like it did when it was fermenting. Not sure what I am smelling then??? Now I'm a little concerned!

 

[abefroman]

Haha umm good question then. It still smells like it did when it was fermenting. Not sure what I am smelling then??? Now I'm a little concerned!

Its might not be done fermenting, is the airlock still bubbling?

 

[pightr]

Its might not be done fermenting, is the airlock still bubbling?

No the airlock has not had a bubble for over a week now at least. I checked the sg on 10/15 and three days prior to that and the SG was constantly at .990. In my instructions it said it was done fermenting and ready to move onto the next steps.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Could it be a sulfer smell?

 

[pightr]

Could it be a sulfer smell?

To be honest I have no clue what sulfur smell actually smells like. Is there any way to explain how sulfur actually smells?

 

[Wade E]

Im betting your wine is fine, after fermentation and even during a fermentation your wine will throw off many odors. Some of these may be pleasant while others not so pleasant. Wine kits are prety darn hard to screw up and Ive learned over time that unless its a strong sulfur smell which kits harly ever have problems with to just let time and procedures like degassing and also time just let it do its thing and the wine 99% of time comes around. If you experience a strong sulfur smell during a fermentation then thats another story and needs to be dealt with right then and there before it gets out of control.

 

[abefroman]

To be honest I have no clue what sulfur smell actually smells like. Is there any way to explain how sulfur actually smells?

You will know sulfur when you smell it. Have you ever been behind a car with a sulfur converter? How much k-meta/campden tablets did you put in and how many gallons of wine is it?

I think it would be good to give it some good stirring, as that will release sulfur dioxide, if that is the cause of the smell, I'm a newbie though, so does anyone want to second this?

What else could it be?

 

[djrockinsteve]

Take out your Potassium Metabisulfite. Mix a small amount with water. Spray a small amount in the utility sink. Slowly smell (very short) from a foot or two away. Sulfer is strong and you will smell it.

NEVER EVER smell from the bag of dry Pot. Meta. or inhale these fumes as it will burn your nasal passages.

 

[jtstar]

doesn't sulfer have a smell like rotten eggs ?

 

[djrockinsteve]

Yes but it's not exactly the same smell.

 

[pightr]

From what I have read the rotten egg smell is from a different type of sulfur. The sulfur we are using is a different type of stuff. It does smell like a kind of sulfur smell(coming from someone that deals more with sulfur than I ever have). So here is the question now. What do I do about this? Do I leave in this carboy and let it sit longer and see if it settles down in smell. Or do I rack and stir again to try and diminish this smell?

 

[Koom]

From what I have read the rotten egg smell is from a different type of sulfur. The sulfur we are using is a different type of stuff. It does smell like a kind of sulfur smell(coming from someone that deals more with sulfur than I ever have). So here is the question now. What do I do about this? Do I leave in this carboy and let it sit longer and see if it settles down in smell. Or do I rack and stir again to try and diminish this smell?

I'd say degass it by whipping it extremely well. Hopefully this will help. You could splash rack it again.

 

[pightr]

I'd say degass it by whipping it extremely well. Hopefully this will help. You could splash rack it again.

This is what I was thinking. Just wanted to see if anyone else had any other idea's that I'm not thinking of here. Thanks again everyone for all the advice and help!

 

[pightr]

I splash racked and degasses again with a drill and the smell is still very strong inside the wine. Not sure what went wrong here or you guys have similar smells to this when it is just about done clearing and ready to age. I'm completely at a loss here on what to do with this batch. Please help

 

[pightr]

Bump bump.

 

[Julie]

I think you just need to leave it along for awhile. As Wade said, kits are pretty hard to mess up. Leave it sit for a month and then check it. As Tom will tell you patience, patience, patience. Don't try and rush the process.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yeah - let it sit for a while - and then check it. Start another batch while you wait - it will make the time go by faster.

 

[JohnT]

Better yet,

Does it smell like rotten eggs or perhaps a burnt rubber smell?