White wine looks like urine. ...really

[LoneStarLori]

Ok, this is my second batch of white wine and I am really worried about the color. It is a Reserve Du Chateau Oriveto style. I have it in the 4th day of clearing and the color seems to have gotten darker since adding the fining agent and Super Kleer. It was dark to start with, but this color is not at appetizing. It truly looks like a urine sample.
I'm wondering if this is going to change and lighten up. Anyone experienced this before? Is there any hope of lightening it up to make it more palatable?


I made 2 tweaks to the kit. I added 3T dried elderberry flowers and 1 lb of white raisins when racking to the secondary. SG 1.02.

This is what it look like before adding the fining chems 4 days ago.

 

[Jericurl]

Oh Lori.....

No advice but...man, that does look unappetizing.

I think I read somewhere that bentonite can strip out some of the color, but I think it takes a lot of other stuff along with it.

 

[cimbaliw]

The irony here Lori is that, as a general rule, the higher the specific gravity, the darker the urine! I have nothing to offer here other than if it tastes good, that's all that matters. I'm curious if some of the pigmentation is resultant from the rather mild tweaks reacting with available compounds in the wine. It's a darker yellow but not offensive. If you think about it as a spectrum all whites look like urine at some SG. By the way if your urine is as dark as that carboy, you probably need some some evaluation!

 

[jamesngalveston]

Lori..
If you want to change the color....add red food coloring drop per drop.
stir after every drop.
It will not effect the taste at all.
Wine makers been doing that for long time.

 

[Stressbaby]

It is the same color as the lilac and plumeria (flower) wines I have on the counter right now; so I'm guessing it might have been the elderflowers that changed the color.

I think it looks fine, but I make and drink a lot of floral wines.

 

[LoneStarLori]

James, why do you say red? I would think that might make it go orange.

Cimbaliw, ever had a really iron heavy vitamin? lol

When I think back, I remember the juice being very dark from the bag also. I think I'll write paklab and see if maybe I got a bad batch. It tastes just fine though.

 

[Deezil]

It looks just like my Gold Raspberry wine, to me..

You say that it changed after you added clearing agents... It's easy to forget about the effect that light has on liquid, when the liquid has a large amount of dissolved or floating particulate... It will make it appear lighter, until said-particles are removed

When the light can pass farther into the carboy without being reflected back, you get a truer sense of the actual color...

It's not the straw/gold/"urine" color you need to worry about... It's the brown/rust sort of colors..

 

[jamesngalveston]

red is a strong color.. add 1 drop at a time.

 

[Runningwolf]

I have to be honest with you but I think the straw color is beautiful. Is it suppose to vodka clear? How does it smell or taste? PVPP will strip the color but it'll also strip some flavor. I would go with aroma and taste and let the color be what it wants to be.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I really have to agree with Runningwolf..it think its gorgeous.

 

[joeswine]

Style and color

THE style and type of wine your making is darker than normal, with the addition of the raisins and elderberries you added to the hue, KNOW PROBLEM..............stay the course.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Well the consensus seems to be let it be what it is. Like I said, it's only my 2nd attempt at white so I guess I'm just going by what I have drank in the commercial wines. Thats why I love this site. Lots of experience to make a girl feel good.

I suppose it is all part of the tweaking process like Joe and Stressbaby say. But I am curious about what is PVPP as Runningwolf mentioned?

 

[RegionRat]

...... But I am curious about what is PVPP as Runningwolf mentioned?

I was curious also. I just got done reading about it. I am in no way an expert and am very very cautious about posting a reply here..... This is what I found:

...... fining of juice from moldy grapes and for removing excess color for blush wine production.


http://atpchems.com/atpchemis/index.php?categoryid=14&m2_articleid=17&moduleid=m2_news&articleid=17


You guys on here will never cease to amaze me on the thing you know about wine making

RR

 

[Boatboy24]

If that's the color of your urine, you need to drink more water.

I think it looks great.

 

[dralarms]

Looks good to me. Bottle it and ship it to me, I'll let you know in a year how it tastes.

 

[salcoco]

chardonnay color light to medium yellow
gewurtztraminer color-medium yellow to gold
gruner veltliner color gold to green gold
moscato color pale to golden
Riesling color pale straw to medium gold
sauvignon blanc color light to medium yellow

this is just a small sample of the color characteristics of some popular wines.
I believe you can probably find your color here somewhere. also adding elderberry flowers has left some suspended solids that will require filtering. Once wine is filtered it will really be gold in color.

 

[olusteebus]

I usually do not make wine that looks like urine. I do, however, make wine that tastes like urine. It is a special skill that I possess.

 

[fivebk]

If you would filter the wine it may lighten up some. I had a dandelion wine that was dark, but after filtering it was beautiful. Search this forum for dandelion wine and look for my thread I have before and after pics on there.

BOB

 

[LoneStarLori]

I don't have a filter system or a pump. Rather than to spend more money on this very additive hobby, I thought I would try what I have on hand. A Brita pitcher. Wrong move. It not only turned it a little green, it also completely stripped the flavor. It it tastes like water with a splash of wine.
Once again, lesson learned.
The filtered one is on the right in the Kerr jar.

 

[dralarms]

Yea. That won't work. At least you didnt run it through a carbon refrigerator filter (guilty party here). I again would recommend to bottle and drink. Some "wwhite"wines are darker than others.