Time to bottle, need some help

[KyleC]

I believe I'm ready to bottle my first batch of strawberry wine and I have a few questions. On 2/6/16 I added Camden and potassium sorbate and degassed. On 2/18 I racked for the 3rd time and added an fpak. On 2/27 I racked for the 4th time and back sweetened. The wine has cleared nicely in a carboy, I started the batch on 1/18/16. So here are my questions. My wine doesn't have the strawberry flavor I'm looking for. Can I add a strawberry syrup or jelly? Second, do I need to add any more Camden or potassium sorbate before I bottle?

 

[Johnd]

I believe I'm ready to bottle my first batch of strawberry wine and I have a few questions. On 2/6/16 I added Camden and potassium sorbate and degassed. On 2/18 I racked for the 3rd time and added an fpak. On 2/27 I racked for the 4th time and back sweetened. The wine has cleared nicely in a carboy, I started the batch on 1/18/16. So here are my questions. My wine doesn't have the strawberry flavor I'm looking for. Can I add a strawberry syrup or jelly? Second, do I need to add any more Camden or potassium sorbate before I bottle?

Last question first, if you have no way to test your SO2, be safe and make the addition before you bottle. As for the strawberry flavor, I'm not sure about syrup or jelly, but most home brew stores have concentrates for flavoring beer and wine, but I've not used them.

 

[KyleC]

Thanks for the info John. I was leaning towards adding the campden and potassium, just wasn't sure.

 

[Julie]

You don't need to add anymore sorbate and I agree with Johnd, I would look for a concentrate. How many pounds of fruit did you use to start with?

 

[Arne]

Did you try adding a little sugar to it? Sometimes brings the flavor out. Try it with a glass before adding to the entire batch. Arne.

 

[wineforfun]

I assume you backsweetened with sugar? If so, what is your SG now?

 

[DoctorCAD]

Wine generally does not taste like the fruit it was fermented from, and strawberries have a delicate flavor to begin with.

 

[KyleC]

Thanks everyone for the help. After drinking a glass and not just a taste, I think its just right. I don't plan on doing anything but bottle, hopefully this weekend.

Thanks,
Kyle

 

[PhilDarby]

As arne said above try a small amount of sugar, it tends to bring fruit flavours out, if you wanted more of an in your face strawberry fruit flavour, one thing which has worked for me is using cake flavouring (whch must be based on propylene glycol and not oil, which will float on the top) at a rate of around one ml per gallon it takes a few days to steep and for the full flavour to come out so go easy, if its still not strong enough, add it in 1/2 ml stages after that, until u reach a flavour you like, if its high in alcohol (around 16 to 18 %) it ends up tasting a bit like a strawberry schnapps, especially if you add approx. 10 mls of aqeous glycerine on top, to thicken it.

It basically depends what your after, for a more subtle flavour, try just the sugar.

If you want to experiment you can also, tweak a small amount to see it suits your needs.

 

[WineYooper]

That sure is a lot of racking in a short amount time! Have a little patience, time is what will help bring out some flavor as well, backsweeting may help some but do a bench test with a small amount. You could use an f-pack from fruit for this or make a simple sugar and add. I'm lucky if I rack four times in 11-12 mounts of bulk ageing. I find that when I bottle, if I open a bottle 1 week later the taste is really funky, which I contribute to bottle shock, but if I wait 2-3 weeks the taste has really improved. Don't be in a hurry with the process, time is a great helper.

 

[Tnuscan]

I believe I'm ready to bottle my first batch of strawberry wine and I have a few questions. On 2/6/16 I added Camden and potassium sorbate and degassed. On 2/18 I racked for the 3rd time and added an fpak. On 2/27 I racked for the 4th time and back sweetened. The wine has cleared nicely in a carboy, I started the batch on 1/18/16. So here are my questions. My wine doesn't have the strawberry flavor I'm looking for. Can I add a strawberry syrup or jelly? Second, do I need to add any more Camden or potassium sorbate before I bottle?

How many pounds of strawberries did you use per gallon?

Thanks!

 

[jgmann67]

Be sure that your wine has fully degassed before putting it in the bottle. It may be that the carbonated fizz is masking the flavor you're hoping for.

Try the "poof" test. Real simple - fill a clean bottle 2/3 of the way with your wine. Place your thumb over the opening and give it a nice, hard 1-2-3 shake. If there's lots of fizz and a substantial "poof" when you remove your thumb, you have gas. Do not bottle.

 

[Vinobeau]

Some thoughts

In 45 years of wine making, I have never had a fruit wine ready for bottling after only 4 months, try waiting another 6. Again, you haven't posted your pounds per gallon figure - that is an important number to share for meaningful feedback. Also, how many gallons did you make? If is is more than one gallon, try an easy experiment. Bottle a gallon as it is, another gallon with an additional amount of sugar, say 1/2 cup per gallon. If there is more wine, try 3/4 cup per gallon. After a year of aging, try them and compare. You might be in for a real surprise.