Strawberry Wine Problem - Sulfur Odor

[Scooter68]

Ok It's been 4 1/2 Months since I started my strawberry wine. 3 Different batches. The first 1/2 gal went very well. I bottled it two weeks ago as I have heard on several sites that Strawberry wine is not really a good long keeper. At 4 months it had great flavor and with a little backsweeting came out as a great desert wine. The first full gallon was bottled today. The second also turned out very good but I didn't sweeten it as much left it at 1.002 SG with acidity at 3.36.

The 2nd full gallon bottle has me worried it has a definite sulfur smell. I used a whip on it 3 months ago when I first noticed the smell. Still there. I racked it yesterday and filtered it to remove some sentiment that never settled out. Since it still had that smell before I filtered it I figured there was nothing to lose at this point buy filtering it into a fermentation bucket then transferring back to a clean 1 gal carboy. Any air exposure I figured might actually help remove that smell.

Any suggestions as to what might have caused it and any idea if it can be removed or is this just a wasted batch? Nothing added after the secondary fermentation completed - just racked it twice since then not counting yesterday. I used one campden tablet after the secondary fermentation completed and no more since then especially since I didn't want to risk inducing more sulfur/sulfites into the batch.

 

[Arne]

Get a little piece of clean copper wire, draw a glass and stir it with the wire. If that helps or fixes it youcan get some copper wire and make a whip out of it and stir your batch, or there is a product (think it is called redulas, but I have not used it) that you can add to the wine that will help clear it up. I have used the copper tho, and it works. For a bit more info on the rotten egg smell, it usually comes from not feeding nutrient at the right time during the ferment or sitting on the gross lees too long. Arne.

 

[Scooter68]

I give up... After the Copper Wire try, tried bentonite and Chitosan and got nowhere. Even took the risk of inducing some air to perhaps allow the odor to dissipate.
No go.
Checked it the other day and now rough alcohol estimated ABV is down to 8% with flavor blah. My first batch - a 1/2gallon batch was awesome but this one definitely not looking salvageable.

Chalk that up to beginners error of some sort. All the other efforts are great, Blackberry, Peach, Blueberry, and Apple (Slowly clearing)

Moving on and planning for next harvest season.

 

[Double Daylo]

We have made 2 batches of straight strawberry wine now with great success. I have never had the issue you are describing. Try it again! Our strawberry wine is delicious!

 

[wineforfun]

Same here, have made two batches and no issues.
Couple of thoughts come to mind.
a. did you follow the "recipe" or steps exactly the same for each batch?
b. what type of yeast did you use and did you use the same on all batches?

 

[Turock]

Sulfur aroma is almost always due to not using enough nutrient and/or not feeding it to the vat in a couple of doses. Another thing that gives you sulfur problems is using a culture like Montrachet which produces quite of bit of SO2 during the ferment. I really like Montrachet on fruit wines. BUT, you really need to use a good nutrient protocol when you use this culture--which means figuring out how much nutrient you need for the whole batch. Then, add half of the dose when you pitch the culture and when you get to 50% sugar reduction add the second half of the dose.

If you are brand new to winemaking, learn from the start to always use a nutrient protocol on ALL of your batches of wine and you will avoid many problems that most new people run into. Doing this will also prevent you from having sluggish ferments and/or stuck ferments.

 

[Scooter68]

My process has been to prep a small glass (Total of about 2 oz) with the yeast and nutrient the day I start the must. The must gets the campden tablet to sterilize/kill bacteria and strange yeasts. Then Yeast mix sits covered overnight and then I pitch it the next day after waiting 24-30 hours for the must to prep. So far this, the strawberry, has been the only one to develop this problem. I get the idea of the 50% now and 50% later concept and will try that next time. Frustrating because the others, Blueberry, Blackberry, Peach and Apple have had nothing like this. Only issue I've had was with the Strawberry on that one batch. The Apple now that's just being stubborn on clearing. Used Bentonite and Chitosan and Pectic Enzyme but it's still got a light haze. Going to wait it out. Don't need to bottle for at least another 4-5 months so...

 

[Turock]

No matter what culture you use--no matter what you are making wine from--you should get used to dosing nutrient in two batches to keep the yeast from getting stressed, which is when they produce H2S.

Also, be aware that bentonite and tannin additions should not be made until your pectic enzyme--or ANY enzyme you might use--has done its job as they can inactivate the enzymes. So timing is important. Bentonite works best when done with the ferment, instead of after the wine is in secondary. We use a lot of bentonite. But something else that would help you is to use a better pectinase. We no longer use the regular pectinase and now use Lallzyme C Max. It is a more rapid de-pectinase and also aids in clearing. Another thing that aids in clearing is tannin. Especially on fruit as most of it has little if any tannin. It also helps to stabilize color. Use just a nominal dose of tannin in your fruit wines.

Yes, never add yeast until the SO2 has done its job--not sooner than 12 hours.

This summer--give it another go with the strawberries. Use the best berries you can find, dose nutrient in two batches instead of one heavy dose, and you should be successful.

 

[Scooter68]

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

I didn't need bentonite or any clearing/fining agents for the blackberry, blueberry the 1/2 gallon strawberry batch. So I like to avoid any outside elements when reasonable. I used it on the strawberry as a last resort.
So this coming summer we will see how it goes. Definitely loved the flavor of the peach, blackberry and strawberry so I will probably focus more on those.

Right now I have a 2 gallon batch of Apricot from a Vinter's Harvest can. It been very slow fermenting (Primary) but then the temp is at the bottom of the yeast limits so I will see if I can raise the temp a little to around 65-70 degrees and get the process to speed up a bit. Will check this morning one more time before I raise that temp.

 

[Turock]

Before berry season, get yourself some Lallzyme C Max. This will help you avoid clearing issues.