First wine kit turned out bitter

[Capecodderbrewing]

Hello everyone!
I am new to home wine making and just completed my first kit. Today was to be bottleing day. I had cleand and sanitized everything diligently throughout the wine making process. When, I went to bottle it today, it was slightly bitter. I made a Wine Experts Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon 4 week kit and followed the directions exactly.. The clarity was good and there was not film on the top.

Is this normal for it to taste bitter and the bitterness goes away with age.

 

[Johnd]

Hello everyone!
I am new to home wine making and just completed my first kit. Today was to be bottleing day. I had cleand and sanitized everything diligently throughout the wine making process. When, I went to bottle it today, it was slightly bitter. I made a Wine Experts Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon 4 week kit and followed the directions exactly.. The clarity was good and there was not film on the top.

Is this normal for it to taste bitter and the bitterness goes away with age.

Welcome to WMT!! Cautiously, I answer your question “Yes”. Super young wine like yours will typically be quite different in 6, 12, 24 months. As you get deeper into the sport, if you read here much, you’ll probably learn to wait well beyond the kit bottling timeline, giving your wine time to degas and develop some of its ultimate flavor profile to perhaps adjust components, and to allow it to fully clear.

All that said, I bottled my first wine kit “right on time”. It was a little fizzy and dropped sediment in the bottles, but was still very nice to drink, so enjoy it and try to let some bottles get to the 1 and 2 year mark so you can see how the wine evolves.

 

[Capecodderbrewing]

Welcome to WMT!! Cautiously, I answer your question “Yes”. Super young wine like yours will typically be quite different in 6, 12, 24 months. As you get deeper into the sport, if you read here much, you’ll probably learn to wait well beyond the kit bottling timeline, giving your wine time to degas and develop some of its ultimate flavor profile to perhaps adjust components, and to allow it to fully clear.

All that said, I bottled my first wine kit “right on time”. It was a little fizzy and dropped sediment in the bottles, but was still very nice to drink, so enjoy it and try to let some bottles get to the 1 and 2 year mark so you can see how the wine evolves.

Thank you for the feedback! Hopefully time will be the fix. I have another kit going now but this one is with skins. I'll see how that one turns out too.
Thank you for your guidance!

 

[montanarick]

agree totally with Johnd

 

[Rice_Guy]

A flavor trick if you want to play:
we can mask too high of a bitter flavor with sugar

 

[cmason1957]

A flavor trick if you want to play:
we can mask too high of a bitter flavor with sugar

If you do go this route, don't forget your Potassium metabisulphite and Potassium sorbate to make sure you don't referement in the bottle.

 

[Capecodderbrewing]

A flavor trick if you want to play:
we can mask too high of a bitter flavor with sugar

My wife did add just a little to her glass and it was very nice. But I will probably will wait to see if aging helps. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Chuck E]

My wife did add just a little to her glass and it was very nice. But I will probably will wait to see if aging helps. Thanks for the suggestion!

You might need to do both.

 

[Capecodderbrewing]

Hi everyone... Its been a while but I wanted to let you know my wine ended up needing to age. We have learned to let the wines do their thing. I'm now on my 8th kit!!!! My best has been a Merlot!

Thanks for everyones help!!!

 

[Gerry Congleton]

There may be hope for me. My last attempt at a kit if Cab. Sauvignon turned out, what I thought was horrible, mostly sour. It was a 5 gal. Wine Expert kit. It has been bottled for about a month or two. I even thought about opening each bottle and pouring into a carboy and trying to start all over, or pouring down the toilet.
After reading above, I'm just going to let it age. I'll try one bottle each year (hmm, that's over 20 years) and I'll be gone long before I could reach the 20th. year. If anyone wants about 10 bottles let me know, no guarantees about taste.
I have a 5 gal kit (Wine Expert) of white wine I will try next. Wish me luck!!!

 

[montanarick]

patience is a virtue especially where wine is concerned. Don't expect your kit to taste like a great aged wine in a couple of months. If it even starts to taste palatable after a year of aging consider yourself lucky - just let it sit and age in the bottle - no need to put it back in the carboy. My wines are mostly pretty rank up until three years of aging - so just hang in there

 

[Bossbaby]

I've made the W.E. cabernet, shiraz and sauvignon blanc in the past 8 months and what a difference 8 months has even made on all of them, The shiraz started out way too bitter and just unbalanced. I make 6 gal kits into 5 gal so there is lots of flavor. Now after aged a bit I would put those wines In the 20 dollar a bottle range or higher..

 

[hounddawg]

I've made the W.E. cabernet, shiraz and sauvignon blanc in the past 8 months and what a difference 8 months has even made on all of them, The shiraz started out way too bitter and just unbalanced. I make 6 gal kits into 5 gal so there is lots of flavor. Now after aged a bit I would put those wines In the 20 dollar a bottle range or higher..

cool, you mean their as good as Boones farm and TJ Swan,,,
Dawg

 

[Gerry Congleton]

patience is a virtue especially where wine is concerned. Don't expect your kit to taste like a great aged wine in a couple of months. If it even starts to taste palatable after a year of aging consider yourself lucky - just let it sit and age in the bottle - no need to put it back in the carboy. My wines are mostly pretty rank up until three years of aging - so just hang in there

Patience is IT. I will just wait and see what happens. Thanks for the help!