Help! Wine In Primary Tastes Oxidised

[Phil-Reeve]

That's basically it, I've had my must fermenting for 4 days and it currently tastes a bit sour and oxidised. Is this an expected result at this stage in the primary fermentation or have acetobacters colonised the must?

I've read that adding more K-meta can stop or reverse the acetobacters, if so, how much should I use? I've got a 10% solution of K-meta and 5 litres of must.

I did have unusually high TA levels (1.16) so could it just be that the sugar's been used up in fermentation and now I'm tasting the acid? I do plan to innoculate the must with malolactic culture.

Finally, I've been pushing the cap down with a large stainless steel spoon, which I've washed thoroughly each time but not sterilised, could it be that that's caused unwanted infection?

Thanks

Phil

 

[Phil-Reeve]

Slight qualification: it's more of a sour than an oxidised taste

 

[JasonH]

What is your current SG? It sounds to me like its just fermented dry and you are tasting the tartness of a young wine.

 

[Julie]

What do you mean it taste "oxidised?" Did you take a hydrometer reading prior to fermenting? If so check it now, I think Jason is right it probably fermented dry. It would be better if you posted up your recipe and procedures.

 

[JohnT]

Please check you acid/ph level. It may need adjusting.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Oxidation has more of a metallic taste. So i agree with above - take some tests and adjust acid/ph levels if needed. It is early and wines can have any number of different tastes at this stage. There is still yeast still in the must it hasn't been degassed, etc.

 

[Tom]

I cant see how its oxidized. You may be tasting yeast,dryness or acid.
What are you making?
Recipe would help with all the #'s

 

[Phil-Reeve]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm hoping it's just a thing of high acid in a fermented wine. I decided to press it all out and get it in a demijohn away from the cap.

I'm not 100% on this though, but my recipe for what it's worth is as follows, hopefully someone can shed some light on what it might otherwise have been.

Grapes harvested, destemmed, mouldy/split ones removed (not that many) and crushed underfoot in a plastic fermentation bin.

5 litres of must produced.

Brix read with refractometer at 16.4. Which according to my chart meant 172g of sugar/litre. The ideal (potential 12.5% alcohol) level being 230g/l, I added 58x5g = 290g of glucose powder to the must.

pH read at 3.1, which according to my (now known as slightly dubiuos, see below) calculations meant that I should add 2.6ml of 10% K-Meta solution, which I did.

TA was measured at 11.6ppt, so no addition of tartaric acid necessary (although slightly worryingly high TA).

This was left for approx 24 hours and I prepared half a sachet of Gervin GV1 yeast in luke warm water for 15 minutes before stirring it in to the must.

That was Saturday afternoon, I'd left it in a fairly warm room in the house ~17 degrees C, and by Tuesday night I noticed the sour taste.

I realised after all this that I'd done gallons-to-litres conversion from the information in my book (From Vines To Wines by Jeff Cox) that I'd assumed imperial gallons, not US ones, so my K-Meta addition was a bit out, but not by much.

That's it then, during the course of Saturday > Wednesday I just pushed the cap down twice a day with a washed stainless steel spoon.

Thanks

Phil

 

[JohnT]

If the Brix was 16.4, this is rather low for grapes. Most wine grapes are in the 22 to 26% range. This may mean that your grapes were under-ripe and, therefore, rather high in acid. My advise is to re-test the acid and make small, incremental adjustments untill you are at the appropriate ta levels (for red, should be around .6 to .65.

 

[Malkore]

I cant see how its oxidized. You may be tasting yeast,dryness or acid.
What are you making?
Recipe would help with all the #'s

beat me to it. there's NO way this wine is oxidized. Its still fermenting. its thrown off so much CO2 you'd have to put forth effort to keep oxygen in solution.

the sourness is all that CO2. carbonic acid. 4 day old wine should taste funky indeed.