Concerned about taste just when bottling

[Total Newbie]

Hi,
I just bottled my very first batch of plum wine (its my first time making any kind of wine, in fact.) It's been sitting in the carboy for about 6 weeks and I followed the directions from Northern Brewer wine making, which is to bottle it when the specific gravity got below 1.000. I tasted it, and now I am afraid it has been ruined by acetobacter. It tasted a tiny bit tangy. Is it ruined? Could this just be a very young wine and just needs aging? Can I only expect vinegar or can I be mistaking the tang of a young wine for the acetic acid? Thanks for either bursting my bubble or providing reassurance.

 

[Johnd]

Hi,
I just bottled my very first batch of plum wine (its my first time making any kind of wine, in fact.) It's been sitting in the carboy for about 6 weeks and I followed the directions from Northern Brewer wine making, which is to bottle it when the specific gravity got below 1.000. I tasted it, and now I am afraid it has been ruined by acetobacter. It tasted a tiny bit tangy. Is it ruined? Could this just be a very young wine and just needs aging? Can I only expect vinegar or can I be mistaking the tang of a young wine for the acetic acid? Thanks for either bursting my bubble or providing reassurance.

Did you put any sulfites into the wine at any time after it was finished fermenting? This could have been added in the form of campden tablets.

How much, if any, air was in the the carboy?

If the wine indeed just got below SG 1.000, it's probably just finished fermenting. Very few wines taste very good just after fermentation, and benefit from some time aging. Most fruit wines also benefit from the addition of a little sugar to the wine, which helps smooth out the rough edges and bring out more of the fruit taste. It could be that your wine is just a babe in the woods.

Can you give us a detailed description of the winemaking process that you used? Please include the recipe for the must, yeast used, nutrient protocol, SG readings wherever you took them along the way, pH readings if any, and approximate time lines. You may not have all of this, just tell us what you can.

And Welcome to WMT!!!

 

[Total Newbie]

Did you put any sulfites into the wine at any time after it was finished fermenting? This could have been added in the form of campden tablets.

How much, if any, air was in the the carboy?

If the wine indeed just got below SG 1.000, it's probably just finished fermenting. Very few wines taste very good just after fermentation, and benefit from some time aging. Most fruit wines also benefit from the addition of a little sugar to the wine, which helps smooth out the rough edges and bring out more of the fruit taste. It could be that your wine is just a babe in the woods.

Can you give us a detailed description of the winemaking process that you used? Please include the recipe for the must, yeast used, nutrient protocol, SG readings wherever you took them along the way, pH readings if any, and approximate time lines. You may not have all of this, just tell us what you can.

And Welcome to WMT!!!

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. When I put it in the primary fermenter I added a bunch of sugar and added acid blend, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme and then added the yeast. It sat for 8 days in a big bucket with an airlock, and swirled it around once a day. I then put it in a 1 gallon carboy. There was quite a bit of air (maybe 4 inches) above the wine, to the airlock. I waited six weeks, then checked the specific gravity. it wa below 1.000. I added potassium metabisulfite and sorbate to a little bit of water, dissolved it, added it to the carboy, then transferred the carboy contents into the wine bottles. I basically followed the Northern Brewer You Tube video (except he uses blackberries instead of plums.) I tasted what was left at the bottom of the carboy that was too close to the sediment to put into a bottle and that was where I tasted the slight tang. I tried to sterilize everything with the sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate that came with my Northern Brewer kit, but how "sterile" everything really needs to be seems vague to me. What do you think? Did I totally screw it up? Do you see where I made some obvious error or do I jsut need to be patient? How long do you think I should wait until I open a bottle? I've read 3 months minimum, 8 months, even a year, but I'd rather open one bottle at the minimum time to find out if it's all just vinegar.

 

[Johnd]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. When I put it in the primary fermenter I added a bunch of sugar and added acid blend, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme and then added the yeast. It sat for 8 days in a big bucket with an airlock, and swirled it around once a day. I then put it in a 1 gallon carboy. There was quite a bit of air (maybe 4 inches) above the wine, to the airlock. I waited six weeks, then checked the specific gravity. it wa below 1.000. I added potassium metabisulfite and sorbate to a little bit of water, dissolved it, added it to the carboy, then transferred the carboy contents into the wine bottles. I basically followed the Northern Brewer You Tube video (except he uses blackberries instead of plums.) I tasted what was left at the bottom of the carboy that was too close to the sediment to put into a bottle and that was where I tasted the slight tang. I tried to sterilize everything with the sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate that came with my Northern Brewer kit, but how "sterile" everything really needs to be seems vague to me. What do you think? Did I totally screw it up? Do you see where I made some obvious error or do I jsut need to be patient? How long do you think I should wait until I open a bottle? I've read 3 months minimum, 8 months, even a year, but I'd rather open one bottle at the minimum time to find out if it's all just vinegar.

Well, it seems that since nothing was measured, we don’t know how much alcohol you’ve generated, nor how acidic your wine is. Letting it sit for weeks after fermentation with 4” of space in a 1 gallon vessel with no sulfite could certainly produce vinegar. Get your vessel topped off with a similar wine so there’s very little air, and add one Camden tablet per gallon. Give it some time to come around and see what you have.

 

[Total Newbie]

Well, it seems that since nothing was measured, we don’t know how much alcohol you’ve generated, nor how acidic your wine is. Letting it sit for weeks after fermentation with 4” of space in a 1 gallon vessel with no sulfite could certainly produce vinegar. Get your vessel topped off with a similar wine so there’s very little air, and add one Camden tablet per gallon. Give it some time to come around and see what you have.

Hi,
It was all measured, but I didn't include that info. No sulfite - that is the question. I will look back to make sure this was definitely left out. Either way, I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Thanks.

 

[scruff_farrier]

So, I let some of the more experienced guys really dig into this and ask you some more questions. But, it very well could be just the CO2 in the wine that hasn't degassed yet. Six weeks really isn't that very long in wine aging and degassing terms. Depending on if you racked it to a secondary or degassed maybe. If it makes you feel better, depending on your starting gravity, if you end up with more the 11- 13% abv. I have heard, idk if it's true. But I've read and heard that at that tolerance level, it's very very hard to make vinegar, not impossible but hard. Just something I read somewhere.

 

[SeniorHobby]

Have you read any basic wine making books? I’ve found out that it is easier to learn when you understand the terminology and basic ingredients that you will use before you will start getting better at it. I recommend Jack Keller’s book. Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine: Keller Jr., Jack B., Pambianchi, Daniel: 9781591939474: Amazon.com: Books I refer back to it quite often, still pretty new at wine making like you.

 

[G259]

Just make sure that you get a Camden tablet in there, and in every three months.