# 10 gallons down the drain



## Tom_S (Nov 29, 2012)

I'm really bummed. I had two 5 gallon batches I'd been bulk aging that I hadn't checked on in a while, and found that the airlocks had gotten low enough that they let air into the carboy. What was 5 gallons of Concord and 5 gallons of Grenache Rosé turned into 10 gallons of turpentine. 

I had washed all my bottles and was getting ready to bottle the Concord when I figured I'd better sample it. That's when I discovered the low airlock. I hoped for the best and that there was enough CO2 on the surface of the wine to prevent oxidation, I took a sample only to find that it was brown and smelled horrible. I still can't get the odor of oxidized wine out of my mind.

From now on I'm going to put a bit of cooking oil in the airlocks on top of the water when bulk aging.


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## Rocky (Nov 29, 2012)

Tom, really sorry to hear of your loss. It is so hard to dump wine and it sounds like you could not even save it for vinegar. I have not heard of using cooking oil on top of the water (seems like it would work). Some of us use glycerin in the airlock instead of water.


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## olusteebus (Nov 29, 2012)

Welp, I just made the biggest mistake I have made since starting this hobby. In one 5 gallons of potentially excellent muscadine (for me) I put in a whole teaspoon of kmeta, four times too much. I then put *eight* times too much in six gallons!

I guess stuff happens. I use glycerin in my airlocks. Wish I could offer some good advice but I gotta leave to the experts.


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## seth8530 (Nov 29, 2012)

I have heard of some people putting a little vodka in the airlock to stop them from becoming a bacteria house.

Olousteebus..
SO2 degrades over time. I say you might yet still have hope.


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## robie (Nov 29, 2012)

Just remember that when atmospheric pressure changes in the wrong direction for you, some of what is in the air lock very likely will get sucker into your wine. So, don't put anything in the air lock that you wouldn't want to end up in your wine.

The S-type air lock is very good for holding its liquid for a much longer time than the 3-piece air lock. Of course the waterless air locks will never have this problem. For this reason, I use the 3-piece air locks for short term storage and the S-type for bulk aging.

Use vodka, Kmeta solution, or anything else that won't harm your wine, but will discourage bacteria or other critters from entering your wine.


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## Tom_S (Nov 29, 2012)

I use strong K-meta solution in my airlocks. I might have to get some S-type airlocks for bulk aging, or at the very least make sure I keep closer eye on them in the future. At any rate I will at least learn from this rookie mistake.

I did think about saving one bottle to make red wine vinegar out of it, but I couldn't stand the smell of it plus I had sweetened the wine so I poured it out. One of these days I'll actually make some red wine vinegar but use wine I haven't backsweetened.


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## Wiccan_Lager (Nov 29, 2012)

I put vodka in my air locks. It's high enough in alcohol content to be sterile and it doesn't evaporate like water. And also, when you go to rack, you can have yourself a vitory shot.


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## garymc (Nov 29, 2012)

I use distilled booze with the water in mine, too, but alcohol is more volatile than water and evaporates faster, so you have to watch it closer than just water.


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## Tom_S (Nov 29, 2012)

One reason I'm so bummed about this loss is that I was planning to give the Concord away as Christmas gifts. I'm really glad I tasted the wine before bottling it.

At least my Riesling was OK. I did manage to get it bottled. It's only medium sweet so I'm not sure if it would go well as a gift, since most of the people I'd be giving them to like sweet wine.


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## sjo (Nov 29, 2012)

I just tried a batch that I treated for oxidation and it worked out pretty good. I had a 6 gallon and 3 gallon carboy with the same wine. The 3 gallon was pretty oxidized. Smelled bad tasted bad and brown color. The procedure seemed to work well. I couldn't taste the oxidation or smell it. Most of the brown had left. The finished wine did seem to have a heavy oak taste (might have added to much) outside of that it was kind of bland. The original 6 gallon carboy had a slight sourness to it. I ended up mixing the two of them with results better than I could have imagined. Try it out if you didn't dump it yet. It came from Jack Kellers site.
But when a wine oxidizes, you can remove some -- but not all -- of the oxidase from the wine. An oxidase is any of the enzymes that catalyze biological oxidation either directly or indirectly. These enzymes may be an oxidoreductase, oxygenase or peroxidase. Whichever, you can remove some of the enzyme responsible for the oxidation.

SJO

First, correct the wine's SO2 level commensurate with its pH. Then measure 1/2 gram of non-fat powdered milk per liter of wine and dissolve this in 5 mL of cold water per liter. In other words, to treat 5 U.S. gallons of wine (approximately 19 liters), you would dissolve 9.5 grams of powdered skim-milk in 95 mL of cold water. This would be added to the wine while stirring the wine vigorously. The wine may foam, but will soon stop doing so. The reconstituted skim-milk solution must be thoroughly integrated into the wine or it will accomplish nothing. After it is added and integrated, small brown curds will develop in the wine but will eventually settle as lees.

In a previous entry here (June 25, 2003) I noted that Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) can remove some of the taste (but not the odor) of oxidation. Similarly, Polyclar Ultra K-100 and Polylact are products that combines casein with PVPP for tackling browning problems.

About three days after adding the reconstituted skim-milk solution, rack the wine carefully off the oxidase-laden curds into a clean secondary. You may want to tie a piece of fine, sanitized nylon over the intake end of the racking hose (or racking cane, if you use one) to prevent the small curds from being siphoned into the clean secondary. While racking the wine, add the required amount of PVPP, Polyclar Ultra K-100, Polylact, or another fining agent of choice such as Bentonite to the transferred wine (the clean secondary), Allow this to settle under airlock for about 10 days, then rack again. The wine will be greatly improved, but not as good as if it had not oxidized at all.


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## Gr8zins (Nov 29, 2012)

In an airlock, I would keep oil as far away the wine as possible. I would hate for it to come into contact. Vodka is good from the antibacterial aspect, but also good to use when cold stabilizing because it doesn't freeze.


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## vacuumpumpman (Nov 29, 2012)

olusteebus said:


> Welp, I just made the biggest mistake I have made since starting this hobby. In one 5 gallons of potentially excellent muscadine (for me) I put in a whole teaspoon of kmeta, four times too much. I then put *eight* times too much in six gallons!
> 
> I guess stuff happens. I use glycerin in my airlocks. Wish I could offer some good advice but I gotta leave to the experts.


 

If you vacuum transfer while splashing several times it will help in the removal of the extra kmeta you added as long as you get to it relatively soon.

As for the air locks I use vodka and check them weekly


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## Julie (Nov 30, 2012)

sjo said:


> I just tried a batch that I treated for oxidation and it worked out pretty good. I had a 6 gallon and 3 gallon carboy with the same wine. The 3 gallon was pretty oxidized. Smelled bad tasted bad and brown color. The procedure seemed to work well. I couldn't taste the oxidation or smell it. Most of the brown had left. The finished wine did seem to have a heavy oak taste (might have added to much) outside of that it was kind of bland. The original 6 gallon carboy had a slight sourness to it. I ended up mixing the two of them with results better than I could have imagined. Try it out if you didn't dump it yet. It came from Jack Kellers site.
> But when a wine oxidizes, you can remove some -- but not all -- of the oxidase from the wine. An oxidase is any of the enzymes that catalyze biological oxidation either directly or indirectly. These enzymes may be an oxidoreductase, oxygenase or peroxidase. Whichever, you can remove some of the enzyme responsible for the oxidation.
> 
> SJO
> ...


 
I had a concord that had started to turn brown, smell and taste was still ok, I used this method and it brought the color right back.


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## joeswine (Nov 30, 2012)

*wine defaults and defects*

 Oxidation ,cork taint, Brett,most all of these are common mistakes we as wine makers run into ,if you review the last entree of when good wines gone bad ,the faults of air lock and bungs are poor fit and lack of reviewing the process,give it a read it will help in the future.

The best way to avoid this is to have a plan and be diligent at reviewing what has been done and what comes next,it doesn't take much to make wine ,but what it takes, is what it needs.LEARNING IS WHAT THIS HOBBY IS ALL ABOUT,I FEEL FOR YOUR LOSE.


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## JohnT (Nov 30, 2012)

Joe, 

Exactly what I thought when readign through this thread!

Try not to let mistakes or failures get you down. Keep in mind that this is a learning process. Take what has happened, learn from it, and takes steps to make sure that it never happens again! 

I can definitely tell you I am much more richer for the mistakes I have made than for the good bottles of wine I make!

johnT


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## Tom_S (Nov 30, 2012)

Sjo, thanks for the information, but I already dumped it. Both batches were pretty well gone. Both were brown and smelled & tasted horrible. I doubt anything would have saved them. They had sat for quite some time exposed to air, since for a month or more I either didn't have time or was too distracted with other things to check on them. I'll definitely make sure I check on my bulk aging airlocks in the future. 

So now I'm sitting with several empty carboys and itching to get some more juice. If I can get some more batches started soon, then maybe 2012 won't be a bad year for wine at my house.


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## joeswine (Nov 30, 2012)

*time to read*





 If you can take the time to read the latest (when good wines gone bad )breeze thought look for wine faults and defects,this will truly help you on the next wine making adventure,oxidation,cork taint,poor sanitation are the biggest hitters,take the time and save in the long run,just some thoughts out load.


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## Tom_S (Dec 1, 2012)

Tonight when shopping we bought 5 gallons of Concord grape juice so I can get back on the horse and start another batch. You can bet I'll be keeping a close eye on the airlocks on this one. I don't want to incur the wrath of She Who Must Be Obeyed if I spoil another batch and waste another $30 worth of juice.


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## Tom_S (Dec 3, 2012)

Started this batch of Concord on Saturday and this morning had some good fermentation going in the brew bucket. Seems like I need to make at least one batch of sweet Concord wine every year since that's everyone's favorite. Of course I used the Montrachet yeast which gives the wine the good flavor I like.

I stabilized and backsweetened my Gewurztraminer also, and now am letting it age. You can bet I'll be watching the airlock.


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## marssane12 (Jan 20, 2013)

i got 5 gallons of chardonnay that i got from alexanders wine juice in the fall 
i did all the check for PH TA AND SO2 ..the wine tasted good and smell good is actually a good wine but is turning light brown ......i did not filter and is still cloudy for now i did a cold stabelizing and check the so2 again
i like someone to tell me what is wrong ..like i said the wine tasted very good and smell good 
thank you


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## Gianni (Jan 20, 2013)

seth8530 said:


> I have heard of some people putting a little vodka in the airlock to stop them from becoming a bacteria house.
> 
> Olousteebus..
> SO2 degrades over time. I say you might yet still have hope.




Yep. Cheap Vodka in airlocks has worked best for me. 
It is also great to use in a small spray bottle to sanitize bungs and hoses and surfaces.


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## Arne (Jan 21, 2013)

marssane12 said:


> i got 5 gallons of chardonnay that i got from alexanders wine juice in the fall
> i did all the check for PH TA AND SO2 ..the wine tasted good and smell good is actually a good wine but is turning light brown ......i did not filter and is still cloudy for now i did a cold stabelizing and check the so2 again
> i like someone to tell me what is wrong ..like i said the wine tasted very good and smell good
> thank you


 
I really don't know what to do for this, but if you start a new post with it, more people will probably get a look at it and give you some help. A lot of us have already read this post and tend not to go back to it. Good luck with it, Arne.


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## Geronimo (Jan 21, 2013)

This is what I use

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/silicone-stopper-vented.html

Zero problems so far.


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## Fabiola (Jan 21, 2013)

Geronimo said:


> This is what I use
> 
> http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/silicone-stopper-vented.html
> 
> Zero problems so far.



I would love to use these stoppers and not to worry about checking the fluid levels, but I was advised by everyone on not to use, I still don't understand why the others are better...


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## joeswine (Jan 21, 2013)

*glycerin and the airlock*

 Glycerin, can be used in the airlock the evaporation minimal . Try if you are away from your vessels for long time . This is a trick you should use. E


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