Bitterness

WillM · Nov 10, 2020

I joined the forum a while back to watch and learn. I've pretty much have been lurking. I've been making 1 gallon batches of different wines (and a couple of meads) to discover what my wife and I like. I recently tried out a recipe for Lemon/Lime/Basil wine (my wife loves all of those ingredients). The problem is a distinct bitterness. I know that the particular basil my wife grows has a very slight bitterness but I'm thinking that it might be coming from the pith of the lemons and limes. The recipe called for cutting up the limes and lemons and tossing them in without removing the pith. I think that I would have been much better off using the peel or zest of the limes/lemons and the juice thus discarding the pith. In any case, the result is an interesting flavor wine but with the lingering bitterness. Is there any suggestions as what I can do to maybe cut back on the bitterness...seems like it has lessened a bit with a few more weeks of aging, but there's no way my wife will drink it! thanks.

user 36973 · Nov 10, 2020

Yes, the pith can definitely result in an astringent bitterness to the wine. Zest will give you the flavor without the bitterness but still may leach oil into the wine. Also if you fermented with the basil in the must, you may want to consider adding the basil after fermentation next time.

I've made a lemon/lime wine a number of times and only use the fruit juice, not the zest. The zest contains oils that can be released into the wine and may go rancid or result in off flavors.

Scooter68 · Nov 10, 2020

Always best to follow tried and true recipes from reliable sources and YouTube is NOT a reliable source.

salcoco · Nov 10, 2020

try some plain gelatin can be purchased in grocery store follow packet instructions.

WillM · Nov 10, 2020

Scooter68 said:
Always best to follow tried and true recipes from reliable sources and YouTube is NOT a reliable source.

It isn't a youtube recipe...it is from some natural food/drink site.

WillM · Nov 10, 2020

jgmillr1 said:
Yes, the pith can definitely result in an astringent bitterness to the wine. Zest will give you the flavor without the bitterness but still may leach oil into the wine. Also if you fermented with the basil in the must, you may want to consider adding the basil after fermentation next time.

I've made a lemon/lime wine a number of times and only use the fruit juice, not the zest. The zest contains oils that can be released into the wine and may go rancid or result in off flavors.

that's what I'll do the next time! thanks

Fencepost · Nov 11, 2020

Will, I have also lurked and learned.... I had a grapefruit wine that was bitter... I grew and juiced the grapefruit and it may be the pith from the juicing that is causing the bitterness (it may be acid concentration as well). If you have not looked it up yet, check out egg white fining (it is a very old process)... it is supposed to take out bitterness as well. I tried it on mine and initial taste was that it did have a positive effect. Did not by any means remove all the bitterness but moved it in the right direction. Maybe I did not use enough egg white (I saw some notes where 3 egg whites were used on 5 gal... I used just 1/4 of one egg white). So I may try the pectin, or go bigger on the egg white fining. But worth a try... it all fell out in about a week and I racked it off. Learning a lot on this forum, for sure!