Lilacs

[Pepere]

OilnH20:


starting sg was 1.078. first pic are flowers steeping

2nd pic is strained must with just a few floaties.

last pic all but yeast added. I think the red grape concentrate lends to a rather nice color.

I will run errands and pitch yeast later today.


Thanks to you and Med I've embarked on my first scratch flowered wine. Is there no end to the madness.

 

[OilnH2O]

GREAT color -- beats that "pink slushy" look mine first had!

 

[MedPretzel]

Thanks to you and Med I've embarked on my first scratch flowered wine. Is there no end to the madness.

Nope, sorry.














There is no end.

 

[Pepere]

Here's a first racking pic of the lilac. Somewhat different color than OilnH20 but suspect that is due to the red grape concentrate.

I did notice a slight bitterness to this wine but will wait the six to eight months and the several more rackings before passing judgment. Sure is a pretty color though.

 

[OilnH2O]

Make sure you check out (on the General Wine section "specific gravity residue) my problems I'm encountering with those "floaties" I mentioned some time back. I'm on "hold" with the lilac wine until I can get some good advice!

 

[MedPretzel]

Rack it, put a campden tablet in it, and then see what happens.

M.

 

[OilnH2O]

Martina,


I racked it -- but didn't put a campden tablet in it -- here's my thought process. I made the same mistake with the Lilac that I did with the rhubarb (that LONNNG story is over on the 'yeast forum') -- and that was to measure a 1/4 tsp of K-Meta POWDER into the must instead of a campden tab. However, unlike the rhubarb, the lilac did ferment pretty vigorously -- but I figure it has LOTS of free SO2 in it...so I didn't add more.


Now, YOU are the Experienced One - if you think it needs another campden tab I'll put 'er in! But, that was my thought process....


DaveEdited by: OilnH2O

 

[Pepere]

Got back late last night from Vt.

The lilac looks good and I've not experienced the "floaties" that OilnH20 has, at least not yet. I am working on wine projects today and will rack it after I rack my "chateau" and get a better idea of where it is. I hope that sharpness or bitterness is gone

My G. A. Riesling is ready to bottle but might not get to it today. I did steal a taste last night. Yes, the little fat guy from Maryland did real good. Added 2lb of sugar and half the "F-pack" to the primary.

Need I say more? Okay..........yummie!

 

[Pepere]

OilnH20:


I haven't heard much about your lilac lately. Did the campden tab solve your problem?

My lilac has been just sitting there now for the better part of a week. All fermentation has ceased and it actually looks like it's starting to clear. It smells fine but I haven't tasted it since the first racking. I'll wait a few more weeks then rack it off again and sneek a taste at that time.

 

[MedPretzel]

Okay,





Sorry, somehow this one was overlooked...again....

I'd say put in the campden tablet anyway. But if you don't, put it in at the next racking. You are going to vigorously stir it eventually, so a lot will go out thru that. Yes, you added a lot at the beginning, but it seems your still okay, since fermentation took place. Taste it. It's important to do so. If it tastes bitter (i.e. not normal wine bitterness), go easy on the campden, otherwise, add one every other time you rack, if you rack often.





Smell it: does it smell okay? It should smell like lilacs. Come on, people, you've tasted my lilac wine - you've smelled it too. It does remind you of lilacs, doesn't it?








Pepe:

I would taste it. It smells better than it tastes, but the smell should be of lilac and excellent and the taste should be "fruity". I cannot really say more about it since it's been a while since I've had it.





Gotta run,





M.

 

[OilnH2O]

Martina and All,


Here is the Lilac today -- the wispy, lava-lamp-like stuff appears to have consolidated into something more white and solid, but still floating.

You can see from this next one that the haziness is still there, and there are a few very small white dots floating around as well. Seems like when the consolidation occurs, they go to the top. Was last racked on the 14th.

I'm still open to any and all advice! (By the way, it is still putting off a bubble every few minutes through the airlock....)


DaveEdited by: OilnH2O

 

[MedPretzel]

First of all, beautiful landscape.

Secondly, the wine:





Rack it. I forget if you used campden tabs or k-meta. If campden tabs, it almost looks like they weren't completely crushed. Something's coming out of suspension, and floats to the top. Not to worry, it's nothing bad, from what it looks like. (Aside that I'm also looking at the beatuiful mountains in the back) As long as your keep racking, you'll be fine, I think.


Smell it. Good, bad, rotten? I have a feeling if it's fine, it smells fine too.


Taste it. Just a sip, and tell me what you think of it. Is it off, is it young, is it okay (granted, I know you've never made lilac wine, but you can get a jist if something's off or not.).


Calm down.

This is definitely NOT mold or anything terrible. Just strange, but not terrible. If you can say, "It's pretty normal," for the above statements, you'll be fine.


I hope this helps!





M.

 

[Pepere]

No pictures of my lilac: I'm a couple of weeks behind H20 and won't be racking again until my return from Tampa around July 9th. However;


Smell: definite Lilac smell and a hint of the red grape as well.


Taste: What I initially mistook for "bitter" I believe now to be more a "hot" taste, maybe young and fairly dry. As I sit here there is a definite lilac flavor in the back of my mouth which lingers awhile. Interesting and now has my interest.


I did not experiance the floaties and the color is a bit deeper red because of the red concentrate used. I guess now only time will tell.


Grasshopper thanks Ms "M"

 

[OilnH2O]

Will rack again, and another campden tablet -- and I'm not worried, because the aroma seems fine -- and the taste, while not unpleasant, does have a "bite" to it, especially on the back of the mouth. The aroma and taste are little changed from the start, so I think I'm okay... and just practicing patience!

 

[MedPretzel]

Both of you describe a typical country, or scratch, wine.

As long as you keep in mind that it's a "young'in," you'll be fine. The bite or hotness you describe is just from a very young wine. Once it's clear and stabilized and all that, bottle it and PUT IT AWAY for at least one year (good time to open it? When you make Lilac wine next year)!!!





Keep me posted. I'm certainly interested in this one, if I do say so myself.

 

[Pepere]

Ms M:


Any success with this wine is because of your help. Needless to say when it's ready I'll figure out a way to send you a split of "Lilac Marinade" for approval.

 

[OilnH2O]

Martina and Pepere-


Lilac Update: I've left the lilac sit since June 29 -- and watched white stuff reappear -- a sort of hard residue around the edge where the liquid meets the bottle neck. And the wine isstill hazy. Amazingly, I noticed today the top 1/4 inch of the surface of the wine had the "lava lamp" stuff in suspension. When I would gently rock the "carboy" (a Carlo Rossi 1 gal jug!) from side to side, it would move around and then start to drop in a loose, lava-lamp-like clump and just sit there. I think it then rises ever so slowly back to the surface.


I racked again today -- I did NOT add another campden tab (I added one on June 29) -- and added a gelatin solution as a clarifier and left probably a liter or so in the bottom of the first jug, so it would not get into the new jug. I topped up with chardonnay.


I didn't even try to taste that residue so have no idea of the taste -- the smell is the same as it has always been -- not unpleasant, but NOT smelling like lilac blossoms either.


On the Winepress site Jack Keller asked me to take some pic's -- but my digital just cannot focus that closely to show anything other than "cloudy" wine -- but he seemed intrigued none-the-less -- but stumped too.


I hope Pepere's had better luck!

Dave

 

[Pepere]

H2O and Ms Med:


Sorry I've been AWOL, just too many trips to take before Nov.


Update on Lilac. Well, it smells like Lilac wine.

I just racked it for the second time and added one Campden tab. (this is the first cam tab I've added by the way). It's taking its jolly ol' time clearing but, it is clearing.


Taste: well, it's different. Never having made a country wine before I can only guess that's it is just fine, very young and a tad bitter other than that it certainly has potential. Sorry to say I've not had the experience that H2O has been having with his floatie thingies and I can't say as I miss 'em!

I'll just have to wait 'til next year and see what the final product tastes like. Sure smells nice though. Lilac and a hint of red grape. I'll post a pic when I get a new battery for the digital.

Pepere

 

[MedPretzel]

Sorry to have missed this post (again)... I think I'm blind.


Oil: Don't worry. Nothing fatal with the wine. I think I might have the same problem with my wine. (Uh, Sage, I think). It MIGHT (and I'm only speaking out of what I did differently on this batch) be a surplus of sulfite (I used juice instead of concentrate, DUH), or some other preservative in over-abundance.


Now, I filtered one of the jugs (3 of them in all), and the stuff hasn't come back... yet... it's been like this for a month or so now.


It almost looks like the skin of milk when you heat it up. (Mine does)


So, I am going to say - only on a whim - and I don't know if it will hurt/help it: Stir the beegeezus out of it. splash it around when racking, make sure it gets lots of agitation. I'd shake the carboy/jug, I'd rack it... If all else fails, I'd filter it. If you don't have a filter, that's okay. I think a coffee filter in a funnel would work. But this is just a hunch.....


My sage wine tastes okay, what about the lilac?


Pepe,


You did everything right. It sounds like it's doin' what it should. Enjoy your trips!






M.

 

[MedPretzel]

Just another note: (I re-read your post)


It's hazy? Hmmmm...


Like, supercloudy hazy, or has it gotten better?


If it has gotten better, you're okay. Just a normal process of clearing.


If it's still as cloudy as it was when you racked it to glass, we've got a larger problem on our hands.


If the latter, I would suggest sparkelloid or even superkleer. The latter of the two is probably a better "all-around" clearing agent. If you started this wine in april/may, and it's somewhat better than when you started, you're being impatient.

It's only 4-5 months old.


Fine Wine Takes Time.


Now, the cloudiness otherwise (if it's as murky as it was when you started, or only slightly better), would mean we have another problem - namely a pectin haze. Now I think this is almost non-existant in lilac wine, but.... not impossible. Superkleer should help you with that as well. As much as it can. Pectin haze is something that you can't really get 100 % rid of. You could try filtering, but it's still not the best.


You might also have to take an SG reading. 0.990? or is it higher? If higher, you might still be fermenting, and don't worry about it if it is. Then we're okay. You've got time! You may be impatient, but you've got time.


As in my previous post, I think this film you're seeing is something of a preservative. I used a bottled-white-grape-juice on my sage, and have something quite similar. I can't figure it out yet what it exactly is, but I have a feeling sulfites are the culprit. (Hence the stirring advice)


You should still try to get the gunk out - and note when you did so, and when you see the film again. If the intervals get longer in between, you'll know it 's just a matter of time. You might want to try a turkey baster or pipette if you don't feel like racking (properly sterilized, mind you!)


Hope this helps,





IT sounds fine, though. Don't worry about it. I tasted my sage, and it was pretty darn good, for being such a green wine!

M.