WineXpert White Zin

[uavwmn]

My IM White Zin is now ready to be bottled. It is clear and has this pink-red color to it.
Very fruity tasting from the carboy.
But.....when you smell it, to me it has a sour fermentation smell. Will this go away when I bottle it? uavwmn

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Could need more degassing I would guess, fill a bottle half way and shake the snot out of it, see if it foams up. That would tell.

 

[PeterZ]

I have experienced the smell with some kits - to me it smelld like boiled greens. It was really bad with my RJS Merlot 10L kit that I bottled a couple of months ago. The smell is gone now, and the wine is surprisingly drinkable.

 

[phantom]

For the IM kits, I think there's a double shot of K-Meta, so if you're sniffing from the carboy, you might be getting a whiff of that. Or it could be the exotic fruit and the white zin smell that needs a little mellowing. How quickly did you go through the fermenting process? I just started my first IM (Watermelon White Merlot), but for the other kits that I've done and rushed, I've noticed some off smells before bottling.

 

[uavwmn]

I did test the white zin by shaking some in a bottle. It was a little foamy, so I degassed again with my drill. Do I wait another 14 days for it to clear?

 

[uavwmn]

Phantom, I had thought about the exotic fruit also not mellowing quite yet. I have degassed it again and hope it clears in a couple of weeks.
I had put some wine in a glass to check clarity, gave it a whiff and got that sour fermentation smell. uavwmn

 

[uavwmn]

Peter, I have degassed the white zin again. Hopefully this may take that smell away. Did you bottle your RJS with that smell? Glad to hear it goes away.

uavwmn

 

[PeterZ]

Yes, it had the smell when I bottled after a couple of months of bulk aging. It is gone now, and would dissipate when decanted for an hour before drinking.

 

[phantom]

Going back to the speed thing, back in the old days before I started using my drill attachment, I did have a couple of batches of wine that were funny smelling, however it usually corresponded to a batch that wasn't fully degassed, with the funnier smells associated with the less degassed stuff.

However, for the whole fruit-grape blend style, I have had a couple of batches that even after bottling I ended up dumping because something wasn't right, and it wasn't mellowing. If you've got the time and space, let it sit in the carboy and see if it works itself out.

 

[smurfe]

I will add that the WE Island Mist Exotic Fruit White Zin was the hardest kit I have ever encountered to degas. The 2 minutes didn't get it with that kit. I bet I stirred it for at least 15 minutes to get it gas free. That was with a drill attachment. This kit had the biggest volcano I have ever experienced as well when I first stirred it. What a mess. It turned out a fantastic sweet wine. You better like sweet wines if you make this one though. It is really sweet.