Taste Test, Not smooth?

[blackfin1]

I have been giving away my kit wines for others to try and the overall concensus is that my wine is not smooth. I have been making wines from kits that I have bottled as per the instructions after around 30 days. My question to you is:

1. Will adding a small amount of surgar smooth out the wine?
2. Should I bulk age for a month or 2 to smooth out the wine?
3. Is this an acid issue? Should I test and adjust if needed?

Thanks,
Sal

 

[Arne]

A little sugar will probably help some. Open a bottle, pour a glass and add a little sugar. If it helps, you can just sweeten it as you drink it or you can open the bottles, pour em back in the primary, sweeten and rebottle. On the other hand, settin em on the shelf for a few months usually helps them out a lot.

 

[shoebiedoo]

We would need for information to really answer your question. What wine did you make? His long did you wait to bottle it, My gut instinct Is that the wine is to new to be consumed and will improve greatly over time.

 

[blackfin1]

I bottled a Vintner Reserve White Zinfandel and a Mezza Luna Red. I followed all directions to the T, but I did not bulk age and should have. I am going to try the taste test with some surgar and possibly test the acid levels even though the acid should have been adjusted by the manufacturer. This should help.

THanks,
Sal

 

[Stuart77047]

I am pretty sure lack of aging would be a major part of the issue. How long have you aged the wines?

 

[Flem]

I agree with those who believe the wine should age longer. If you bottled at 30 days and began drinking soon after, your wine is still very young and green. I suggest you wait for at least 6 months to drink it. Most wines need time in the bottle or carboy to soften. Mist kits are an exception to this and can be drunk relatively soon.

 

[ffemt128]

I agree with the above, you are likely suffering from the wine being young. As a new wine maker, we tend to follow the directions to the letter and bottle when it states. Bottling doesn't equate to drinkable. My first kit 2 years ato was a Wine Expert Valpolicella. Tasted good to us at 2 months old. We saved 1 bottle of it and opened it on Thankgsgiving. It was much better at 2 years old than what I remember it being at 3 or 6 months old. I have 2 bottles (1-750 and 1 1.5 ltr) of my 2nd kit. A higher end Wine Expert Chianti. I cant wait to open a bottle on Christmas, it will be 2 years old at that point. I'll try to save the remaining bottle til next Christmas.

 

[PCharles]

I began making wine from kits early this year (2011). Most of the kits were reds like cab sauv and malbec. My wife complained and didn't enjoy them very much though. Yesterday my wife was making some lasagna and asked me for some red wine. I broke out a bottle of Valpolicella. She splashed a bit in and I capped of the bottle believing I would have a nice glass when I got home from work. When I arrived home, I was sad to see an open bottle. My wife had the day off and darn if she didn't polish off the whole thing. I did have a little taste as she was adding some to the lasagna and have to agree it had aged nicely. So yes, give your wines, even kit wines, a chance to age.

By the way, I gave me Cab Sauv made from fresh local grapes a taste yesterday. Oh man, it tastes so good. Perhaps I can sneak a bigger taste when I rack again. Hey, I'm trying to practice the 3 P's (patience, patience, and patience).

 

[Eyeguy]

Smooth like butter

I will defer to the people more experienced then me here but I do agree age is the key esp on the red. I had a CC Red Mnt Cab Sav that was very abrasive even at 4months but after 6mo of bulk age it really got nice. It is at 11mo bulk aged now and I think it is ready to bottle. If you want to drink a red not long after bottling I would really try and maximize its time in bulk.
IF the ageing does not work (and again I would defer to the more experienced peoples thoughts on this) but the clarified juice of 1 or 2 bananas in a 5-6 gal batch really makes a wine taste more smooth and even a bit fuller. This is nice in reds but I am not sure about whites. The other concern is if your wine is already fermented and stable it could haze up for a while even with clear banana juice. (some old timer told me about this banana trick and man does it work on reds)
Merry Christmas!

 

[Dvorak]

The first couple of kits I made this year (still a noob, but learning) suffered from insufficient degassing. This give them a carbonation bite. Could that be the lack of "smooth" they are experiencing?

I've since tried the whip with a power drill & attaching the canister hose to my food vac with better results, but still a lot of work to get the gas out.

I'll break down and buy the All-in-One Wine Pump as soon as I stop spending all my wine budget on juice & carboys...

 

[robie]

The first couple of kits I made this year (still a noob, but learning) suffered from insufficient degassing. This give them a carbonation bite. Could that be the lack of "smooth" they are experiencing?

I've since tried the whip with a power drill & attaching the canister hose to my food vac with better results, but still a lot of work to get the gas out.

I'll break down and buy the All-in-One Wine Pump as soon as I stop spending all my wine budget on juice & carboys...

The all-in-one is a sure thing. great for general racking, degassing, and for sure, bottling.

 

[Wade E]

Age age age!!!!!!!!! I know you are new so its hard but time is the wines best friend!!!

 

[Rocky]

Pazienza, amico mio, pazienza.

 

[closetwine]

AGE as mentioned before... Sweeter wines loose their edge faster, gycerine can help some too...