Gewurztraminer taste is weak

[JohnBurns]

I've made gewurztraminer several times from Juice and always been happy. This batch tastes watered down, very weak in the floral and citrus notes. I think maybe because I fermented too quickly and in the warmth of summer. I'm looking for help with ideas of how I can salvage this batch. It just came out of cold crashing, looks good, clear, but very weak tasting. Appreciate any feedback I can get...always follow this forum and have learned a lot from it.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I've made gewurztraminer several times from Juice and always been happy. This batch tastes watered down, very weak in the floral and citrus notes. I think maybe because I fermented too quickly and in the warmth of summer. I'm looking for help with ideas of how I can salvage this batch. It just came out of cold crashing, looks good, clear, but very weak tasting. Appreciate any feedback I can get...always follow this forum and have learned a lot from it.

You can buy small, 4 ounce, bottles of flavors, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, etc. The bottles I have are labeled Brewers Best, I bought them at my LHBS. The instructions say to start at 1.0 ounce per gallon and add more until the desired flavor is reached. Seems like a simple and cost effective thing to try. If I recall, the bottles were around $5, any more than that and I would have passed, deeming them too expensive.

 

[winemaker81]

How is the acid? Cold stabilization can remove too much tartaric, leaving a wine flabby. Put 2 oz wine in each of 2 glasses, and add a tiny pinch of tartaric to one, and taste test.

Glycerin and/or gum Arabic will improve mouth feel and smooth over faults. I haven't personally used gum Arabic, but typically use 0.5 to 2.0 oz glycerin per 1 US gallon.

Another option is light backsweetening, such as 1/8 to 1/4 cup sugar per 1 US gallon. That brings our fruit in non-grape wines, and may improve yours without making it more than off-dry.

 

[JohnBurns]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll try adding some flavor and acid in a bench trial. The TA was 6.75 and pH 3.54. It took 2 weeks to ferment dry. The taste was lacking since first tasting. The juice is from 2019 but has been stored frozen by the supplier. I wonder if the age of the juice could be a factor

 

[winemaker81]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll try adding some flavor and acid in a bench trial. The TA was 6.75 and pH 3.54. It took 2 weeks to ferment dry. The taste was lacking since first tasting. The juice is from 2019 but has been stored frozen by the supplier. I wonder if the age of the juice could be a factor

The age could be a contributor, but I'm suspecting not.

Keep an open mind. Folks often give up too early. If nothing else, your wine is good for cooking wine or for wine drinks.