Stuck Fermentation then smelly gases

[coboll2921]

This is my 5th year making wine from grapes that we juiced at a local orchard.
I used the same recipe as last year but I mistakenly put in 6 camden tablets in a 5 gallon bucket in the primary fermentation. Then after 24 hours I added the yeast 71B-1122. The yeast didn't take hold for two days then one of the buckets starting fermenting and smelling like a strong smell, maybe a gas. It also had like a slug around the top that I never saw in the past. I added EC-1118 yeast and all three buckets started fermenting. The one bucket that smelled we tossed and I kept the other two buckets.

Doe anyone have an idea of what went wrong with the smelly bucket??
The wine I made the last five years went well and tasted great.

 

[Julie]

Probably nothing. When fermentation starts is can produce off odors. Are you stirring the must? If not you would see a sludge on the top, it is nothing more than your wine fermenting.

 

[pete1325]

You "tossed" the one bucket? Not sure I would have done that. A few years ago I made two batches (twelve gallons) of Cab that really didn't taste all that good, had a funny smell too. It fermented dry, just had something funny about it. Waited a year, no change. Wasn't good enough to drink on it's own but made a fantastic Sangria!!!

 

[coboll2921]

The reason I tossed it was because last year I had a bucket that smelled like spoiled or rotten fruit and I continued with it all the way to bottling and tasting it from the bottle and it still was bad. I didn't want to spend all that time if it wasn't going to result in something I could drink. It was a bummer dumping though. I just wish I knew why it had such a bad smell.