Sulfated wine problem

[Sramic]

Hi all, I am relatively new to wine making (10 batches, mostly kits, some fresh juice and one batch apple wine). I have bought fresh juice pails 4 times over the past two years. Two of those batches sulfated. First one was a Sauvignon Blanc from California. It was so bad it stunk up the entire house like rotten eggs and super thick layer of yogurt looking leese at the bottom of primary fermentor. After secondary fermentation I tried to rescue it with exposure to copper. It helped with the smell but tasted metally after. I also tried hydrogen peroxide and it removed the odor but the wine tasted bad. The second time was with a Chardonnay that was made with fresh juice again from California. This time it smelled great after primary and secondary fermentation. I bulk aged it for 6 months in a glass carboy. Then bottled it. A month later I uncorked a bottle for a taste and I can smell the hydrogen sulfide smell, and the taste is a bit sour.

Question 1. Is there anything I can do to my Chardonnay to fix it? (Sav. Blanc I had to dump).

Question 2. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening with fresh juice?

I have not had this problem with any kit wine nor did I have the problem when making wine from apples.

Appreciate any wisdom that may be out there.

 

[dralarms]

Not sure if you can help the batch already made but for future batches you need to watch the temperature of fermentation and also added yeast nutrients can help to keep the yeast from getting stressed (biggest reason for h2s).

 

[sour_grapes]

To your Question 1: As you know, you can remove H2S with copper. However, rather than expose it to an unknown, large dose, use a product called Reduless (http://www.scottlab.com/product-119.aspx). This gives a controlled dose of copper.

 

[JohnT]

For your chardonnay..

- IMHO, you did not bulk age long enough. I would plan to bulk age at least a year before bottling.

- You most likely had yeast that was still active in the wine plus just a bit of residual sugar. (did it taste fizzy after you corked it?) This might explain why it tasted sour (the residual sugar fermented out) and why H2S developed after you corked it.

- To help avoid H2S issues going forward, I would re-examine your choice of yeast and your approach to yeast nutrient.

- YES, like sour grapes said! I would consider treating existing H2S issues with redueless. It is one heck of a product.

I hope that this helps.

 

[Sramic]

Not sure if you can help the batch already made but for future batches you need to watch the temperature of fermentation and also added yeast nutrients can help to keep the yeast from getting stressed (biggest reason for h2s).

Thanks for the info. The temperature during fermentation was about 20 deg Celsius (68 F). I added a small amount of yeast nutrient (10ml) but I do not know how much is enough nutrient for a 6 gallon pail.

 

[Sramic]

For your chardonnay..

- IMHO, you did not bulk age long enough. I would plan to bulk age at least a year before bottling.

- You most likely had yeast that was still active in the wine plus just a bit of residual sugar. (did it taste fizzy after you corked it?) This might explain why it tasted sour (the residual sugar fermented out) and why H2S developed after you corked it.

- To help avoid H2S issues going forward, I would re-examine your choice of yeast and your approach to yeast nutrient.

- YES, like sour grapes said! I would consider treating existing H2S issues with redueless. It is one heck of a product.

I hope that this helps.

The instructions I was told was to not use any yeast. Just let the pail begin fermentation naturally - the pail it came in. I was given no instruction about adding yeast nutrient but I put a small amount in after about 4 days after fermentation began.

What should I be doing with a fresh juice pail?

 

[JohnT]

The instructions I was told was to not use any yeast. Just let the pail begin fermentation naturally - the pail it came in. I was given no instruction about adding yeast nutrient but I put a small amount in after about 4 days after fermentation began.

What should I be doing with a fresh juice pail?

Ah-ha! There in lies the problem. I assume that "a small amount" was not enough.

I would ask if the pail has be pre-inoculated with yeast. If not, I would consider stunning the natural yeast with a dose of SO2 (k-meta) and inoculate 24 hours later with a stable wine yeast. I do this because otherwise, with wild yeast, I have no idea what I am dealing with.

There are several causes, but most of the time H2S is caused by a lack of nutrients. You should really consider a proper dose of nutrients for every batch you make. Making wine without nutrients is like making a peanut butter sandwich without the bread. It can get real messy!

For every vintage, I apply nutrients at three stages. One prior to pitching yeast, one slightly after fermentation starts, and one about 2/3 the way to completion.