I just made my 2nd batch of wine yesterday using a FastFerment system and a Malbec kit. Bottled 25 bottles. I am pretty pleased with the results, but just realized I screwed up royally. I had cleaned the bottles and let them drain on a bottle rack. I used Starsan to sanitize everything that would come in contact with the wine as I bottled, but I just now realized that I forgot to spray the insides of all the bottles with Starsan, too. Am I screwed? Do I need to dump all the wine? Is there anything I can do at this point to recover? Thanks for any help you might be able to provide!
Totally messed up - can I recover?
- Thread starter wpr100
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What was the source of your bottles? And did your kit include a sachet of potassium metabisulfite?
If these were new bottles that you purchased, you will probably be fine. If these were used bottles that you rinsed out when you were finished with the old wine, you will probably be fine. If the bottles were from the bottom of a dumpster behind a bar, you may have a problem!
Wine is a fairly inhospitable environment for spoilage microbes. The low pH and sulfites (if you used the sachet) make it hard for most bacteria to grow.
What was the source of your bottles? And did your kit include a sachet of potassium metabisulfite?
If these were new bottles that you purchased, you will probably be fine. If these were used bottles that you rinsed out when you were finished with the old wine, you will probably be fine. If the bottles were from the bottom of a dumpster behind a bar, you may have a problem!
Wine is a fairly inhospitable environment for spoilage microbes. The low pH and sulfites (if you used the sachet) make it hard for most bacteria to grow.
Thanks for responding so quickly. Yes, I added the potassium metabisulfite at day 15 as the instructions said (not that I know why). The bottles were from my 1st batch of wine (that I basically threw out) that we didn't care for. So, I take it that I shouldn't try to do anything at this point? Just drink the wine and hope for the best? I actually don't know what the symptoms are for wine that has gone bad. Would we know before drinking it because of a bad smell/taste?
Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you aboard.
As Paul points out, you are very likely okay. As far as how you will know if the wine has gone bad, there will be several indications, among which are color, aroma and taste. Your wine is now probably a rich red color. If this changes and you see evidence of "browning" in a glass around the edges of the wine, you might have a challenge. You could get several different aromas from rotten eggs to vinegar.
Taste is more straight-forward. Did you taste the wine before bottling? I suggest tasting the wine periodically, e.g. every two months or so, to see how it is progressing. If you sense that it is starting to change for the worse, get back on the forum and seek remedies.
All right! We're you in the "Third Herd" too? I was in 3rd Brigade and my unit (2nd Battalion, 41st Artillery) was part of Division Artillery (155mm M109's). I was stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany, northern Bavaria about 25 miles southeast of Frankfurt.
For readers who are confused by your references to "Dogface Soldier," here is a clip from "To Hell and Back" starring Audie Murphy, who played himself in the movie.
Interestingly, the song lyrics have changed over the years as politics and political correctness made the original words unacceptable. If one listens closely, the lines in the clip above are, "I'm just a Dogface Soldier, with a rifle on my shoulder, and I eat a Kraut for breakfast every day..." By the time I was in the 3ID, and we were allies with the Germans, the lines had become, "I'm just a Dogface Soldier, with a rifle on my shoulder, and I eat raw meat for breakfast every day..." People must have found that offensive, so the current version is now, "I'm just a Dogface Soldier with a rifle on my shoulder and I'm ready for whatever comes my way.."
You just made the wine and then bottled it? you didn't let it age and clarify for a month or 2? should let it sit and rack at least 2 times before bottling.
ferment rack, let finish fermentation and let co2 escape, then rack and let clarify and settle at least 2 months. adding k meta everytime you rack.
bottles will be fine if you rinsed them, especially if used hot water,
ferment rack, let finish fermentation and let co2 escape, then rack and let clarify and settle at least 2 months. adding k meta everytime you rack.
bottles will be fine if you rinsed them, especially if used hot water,
Rocky, You realize we've really dated ourselves, right? Admitting that we were in the 3ID back when it was in Germany still - when The Wall came down at that. Yes, I was in 2nd BDE. Spent most of my time in 1-15 INF (Kitzingen then Schweinfurt). As a family, we loved Germany - some of our best memories. At least that's what my family says. All I remember was being in the field all the time. Seriously, I did enjoy it and serving in the Audie Murphy battalion, what was not to like. Thanks!
Winechef, I'm using a FastFerment conical fermenter system. I went through the same process you do, but it all happens in the same vat and drains from the bottom. Whole process was 27 days; 5 day primary fermentation, 14 day secondary fermentation then stabilizing, clearing and degassing (days 15-27). It might not be the best system, but it's all I have room for. Thanks for the reassurance.
I am dated! I am beginning my 83rd trip around the Sun today! I arrived in A-burg in February, 1965 and left in December, 1966. I went back with a buddy in 2015 (we were on the "Band of Brothers" tour) and we stopped in Aschaffenburg on the way home. The 3ID had left some years before and the locals were decidedly less friendly than they were when I was stationed there. If I recall correctly, the Infantry regiments were the 7th, 15th and (maybe) the 30th. We had a Battalion or two in A-burg, but I don't recall which. Long time ago.
My wife and I lived with a German family and I was able to find the house we lived occupied at the time. It still looked great. My unit was in Fiori Barracks, which had been converted to what appeared to be low to middle income housing and, to me, it looked awful compared to when it was military.
Welcome!
I do not sanitize bottles at bottling time.
My process involves cleaning bottles as needed, and doing a visual inspection after drying. Bottles that pass go mouth down in clean cases; rejects get cleaned again.
At bottling time all bottles are visually inspected, and rejects go back into the cleaning group.
If the bottle is dry and mouth down, there is nothing for anything to grow on inside the bottle, nor can anything get it. I've been doing this for decades with no problems, and I trust my process as much as I do new bottles coming out of the case for the first time.
Note that I use K-meta solution or Star San on all equipment, including racking it through all tubing prior to a work session.
winemanden
Senior Member
Ha-Ha! Stop making me laugh. Age is how you feel, not a number.
My Son in law is a 72-year-old American. He recently went back to Upper Heyford, where he was stationed until 1992. The joy on his face as he saw the place he served and the memories they brought back was a wonderful thing to see. For a time, he was a younger man again.
As I said, it's how you feel, there has been four Kings and a Queen in my lifetime. I don't feel old, even though I may look it.
