rotten egg smell

[jkrug]

Any ideas how to get rid of smell in peach wine? It has already fermented. Tried splash racking 4 times. Did not seem to help. Any other ideas?

 

[dralarms]

Copper sulfate. Worked for me.

 

[Runningwolf]

I agree with Dr. Pour yourself two partial glasses with the same amount. Put an old penny in one of them and wait 5 minutes. Now smell both of them and see if the bad aroma went away in the one with the penny. Compare the two glasses. If it's gone then thats your problem for sure.

 

[jimmyjames23]

Mercaptans.

Sux........

 

[GreginND]

Please make sure you add the minimal amount of copper sulfate to alleviate the problem. Copper can be toxic in larger amounts.

 

[Sammyk]

My peach smelled for a long time and then the just went away on its own. I was ready to pour it down the drain but am glad I didn't because it is our very favorite!

 

[robie]

Copper sulfate will definitely work but it is not what I would try. The pros use it, but the pros are pros. Too much of it can be dangerous to your health (poison).

There is an alternative called Reduless, which also contains copper sulfate but is much safer for home wine makers.

If as Dan mentioned, stirring the penny around works, you can use something like a "sanitized" copper scrubbing pad, which you buy at the super market. Use a brand new one.

Put it in the wine and stir it around for 5 minutes, then let it set for 48 hours. After 48 hours, stir again. The smell should be much less. Rack again and the wine should be fine.

 

[dralarms]

Robie,

How much would be too much in a 5 gallon batch?

 

[robie]

Robie,

How much would be too much in a 5 gallon batch?

I assume you are asking about copper sulfate. I have never used it as Reduless or the copper scrubbing pad have worked safely and very well for me in the past.

Since I haven't used it, I can't say what dosage is safe. You will need to read up on it, and follow the instructions, based on the specs of the product you use.

 

[wineforfun]

Any ideas how to get rid of smell in peach wine? It has already fermented. Tried splash racking 4 times. Did not seem to help. Any other ideas?

I just went through this with a cherry wine. Per recommendations from WMT folk, I splash racked a few times and the last one was over a piece of copper pipe (clean, of course). It took care of the problem.

 

[jimmyjames23]

I can't find the post where I said this before.

Thief a glass of wine and run a test (aka lab), first.
Into the glass place a very clean penny. I recommend soaking the penny in citric acid first until it sparkles...you can use vinegar but keep it far away from your wine, mind you. Then scrub the bejeezus out of the penny and place it in your wine, stir and seal in a container with no air for 24 hrs.
Taste, smell the wine.
Stay away from copper sulfate if you can. It can be very, very poisonous.
Here's an article on the recommended procedure for pros.
http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/h2s.htm

And these guys will ship you a mercaptan treatment kit for under $20
http://www.homebeerwinecheese.com/MERCAPTAN TREATMENT.htm

 

[Dend78]

yeah just go get a 1/2" or smaller piece of copper pipe about 36" long clean it well as you would anything coming in contact with your wine then stir with it.

it may be a pricey spoon but it will take care of your issues most likely, test with the penny first though

 

[cmason1957]

I have had really good luck with cutting a piece of copper wire, maybe 6 to 8 inches long. Then suspend that in my carboy for two or three days. Check the smell, if gone take the wire out and rack. I think I read that somewhere on this site.

 

[robie]

yeah just go get a 1/2" or smaller piece of copper pipe about 36" long clean it well as you would anything coming in contact with your wine then stir with it.

it may be a pricey spoon but it will take care of your issues most likely, test with the penny first though

I wrote about Reduless and a copper scrub pad, but with the last batch I had, which developed H2S, a copper pipe was exactly what I used. I bought a new, clean short copper tube, sanitized it and actually splash racked through it. I still had some smell, so I used the pipe to stir the wine and racked again.

That works pretty well, but with the several (splash) rackings it takes, the wine can get damaged in the process. That's why I really like the Reduless; it does its work quickly, thoroughly and doesn't put the wine through so much stress.

Not always but generally speaking, H2S is caused by something the winemaker did that wasn't exactly what the wine needed. It many times is a result of the yeast getting stressed from lack of nutrients or a temperature issue. Ultimately, one's aim should be to avoid this, so getting rid of the smell won't be a factor.

Nutrients are not an issue with wine kits unless the kit comes with a nutrient packet. However, with non-kit wines, nutrients are very, very important.

 

[jkrug]

Thanks for everyones responses and suggestions. It seems that stirring with the coper pipe for 10 minutes eliminated the smell.