Wine duds— Do you dump or salvage?

[mainshipfred]

I, more often than I care to admit, have problems with small amounts that don't fit in a barrel or carboy. I they go bad they get dumped. The only large amount of wine I had to dump was an 8 gallon batch of Merlot but it had a really bad case of VA. With subpar wines I usually keep them in a carboy and wait until I have others the same and blend then together. Though even a subpar wine in moderation can add a little character or complexity to a better wine.

 

[ratflinger]

Warm spiced wine is nice on a cool evening. If it's too nasty for that or cooking then into the still it goes.

 

[user 38734]

Had a big March Madness fest yesterday, one of our outlaw inlaws brought a slushy maker and one of his suboptimal vintages. Huge massive hit.

 

[winemaker81]

I, more often than I care to admit, have problems with small amounts that don't fit in a barrel or carboy.

Collect screwcap bottles -- I have favors from a wedding, 125 to 200 ml, which are very handy. I also use a Vacuvin, although it loses vacuum so the bottles have to be repumped every few days.

I'm also not a purist -- if I have bits and drabs of numerous wines, I'll blend them.

 

[BABRU]

Second run black raspberry made by adding 50% of normal first run berries was excellent. Can’t determine which run is better.

 

[Sage]

Have a couple of friends who will use anything. They will just add something, usually brandy in one case. I did dump 2 batches that I wouldn't even give away! Both were caused by faulty (mouldy) fruit.

 

[jsbeckton]

I have some kit wines for 2-3 years ago that I can no longer stand now that I know what I can get with all grape. I was trying to drink them but it felt like a chore. I still use them for top up as I don’t think that I have the palate to pick up the small difference but I occasionally go down to the cellar and dump 6-12 bottles at a time. Should probably just dump the last 40 bottles and be done with it!

 

[mainshipfred]

I have some kit wines for 2-3 years ago that I can no longer stand now that I know what I can get with all grape. I was trying to drink them but it felt like a chore. I still use them for top up as I don’t think that I have the palate to pick up the small difference but I occasionally go down to the cellar and dump 6-12 bottles at a time. Should probably just dump the last 40 bottles and be done with it!

Realizing it takes more equipment to make wine from grapes I find the cost of grapes is about equal to mid range kits and cheaper than high end. I think if a kit winemaker had the space, time and interest to make wine from grapes the cost of equipment would be outweighed in a few years. Those who are not fortunate enough to be able to get fresh grapes kits is the only option. The advantage kits have over grapes is grapes are seasonal kits are not. But I wholeheartedly agree grapes make much better wine. Fortunately, I don't think I have more than a dozen bottles of kit wine left and 4 of them are a Mosti 23 liter kit.

 

[Jal5]

Just remembered, I have Spanish neighbors who serve sangria. Some cheap wine, dump in a fruit salad....

I just did that with wine made from kumquat. A real strong citrus flavor after two years in bottle and strong etoh too. So we made a white sangria out of it and it’s ok that way.

 

[winemaker81]

But I wholeheartedly agree grapes make much better wine.

We did a Merlot tasting last night at a large family gathering -- a few years back I made a low end kit for my niece and made a mid-range for myself. Plus we tasted a newer Merlot from fresh grapes. With one exception, everyone liked the fresh grape the best, next the mid-range kit, then the low-end kit. The outcome was what I expected.

 

[pete1325]

Yep, Sangria for sure!!

 

[jswordy]

In over 20 years I have only ever made one batch of 10 gallons of fruit wine that was so subpar I could not bring myself to drink it, and it is still sitting bottled in the cellar because I could not bring myself to dump it and so bottled it. I have tried various ways to make it better, no luck.

But late this fall or early this winter, when there is plenty of time for the sugars to be absorbed into the ground and not attract insects, dump it I will! I need that space and those bottles for some good wine now.

Why dump on the ground? We are on a septic system and that much alcohol can't be good for it. I plan to dump along fence lines.

 

[Ted Brumleve]

In over 20 years I have only ever made one batch of 10 gallons of fruit wine that was so subpar I could not bring myself to drink it, and it is still sitting bottled in the cellar because I could not bring myself to dump it and so bottled it. I have tried various ways to make it better, no luck.

But late this fall or early this winter, when there is plenty of time for the sugars to be absorbed into the ground and not attract insects, dump it I will! I need that space and those bottles for some good wine now.

Why dump on the ground? We are on a septic system and that much alcohol can't be good for it. I plan to dump along fence lines.

Decades ago, my uncle would make strawberry wine. Some years it was so good we used it as weed killer on the fence row.

 

[MiBor]

First of all, don't distill the wine if it's sulfated. The product will have an unpleasant aftertaste that you won't be able to avoid. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
Sangria is a good option, if you enjoy that kind of stuff. Or frozen granita, if you have the time to put into it.

I had a 6 gal carboy like that three years ago and I managed to fix it. I messed up the acid in the beginning, than corrected it 3 times up and down after AF and it just didn't taste right no matter what I did. So I fermented a batch of elderberry wine from concentrate and mixed it with the problem wine. It was messy and left a greasy scum on everything it touched, but I didn't care. After another year of aging the 2 wines together I had 60 bottles of something unique and delicious. Many of my friends begged for another bottle and it was gone in no time. To this day they still mention it and ask me when I plan to make more of it...

 

[Ajmassa]

First of all, don't distill the wine if it's sulfated. The product will have an unpleasant aftertaste that you won't be able to avoid. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
Sangria is a good option, if you enjoy that kind of stuff. Or frozen granita, if you have the time to put into it.

I had a 6 gal carboy like that three years ago and I managed to fix it. I messed up the acid in the beginning, than corrected it 3 times up and down after AF and it just didn't taste right no matter what I did. So I fermented a batch of elderberry wine from concentrate and mixed it with the problem wine. It was messy and left a greasy scum on everything it touched, but I didn't care. After another year of aging the 2 wines together I had 60 bottles of something unique and delicious. Many of my friends begged for another bottle and it was gone in no time. To this day they still mention it and ask me when I plan to make more of it...

I must say, that was a great post. With an original troubleshoot idea (elderberry concentrate) not yet mentioned I think. And wth a nice comforting happy ending to boot! lol. Happy to hear that worked out in the end for you.

BTW, what type of wine was the initial problem batch?

 

[jswordy]

Decades ago, my uncle would make strawberry wine. Some years it was so good we used it as weed killer on the fence row.

Nailed it! It is a batch of strawberry.

 

[MiBor]

BTW, what type of wine was the initial problem batch?

It was a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon made from a juice bucket. I didn't measure the starting pH/TA because the bucket was already fermenting when I got it. The juice was bubbling inside and foam was coming out the safety valve in the lid. I inoculated with BM 4x4 right away and let it finish AF before I took any measurements. When I finally measured it it had a pH of 4.3. I brought it down to about 3.6 and tasted very acidic after that. A month later neutralized some of the added acid with potassium carbonate and it tasted flat and thin. A couple of months later I added more tartaric acid to bring the pH to 3.6 again and it really tasted weird after that. I started looking into what I could do with that wine and an older friend of mine suggested blending with a concentrated elderberry wine. I'm glad I did it and saved the batch. I really didn't want to throw it away after all the work I put into it. It was also a good lesson to learn because now I wouldn't ferment anything without measuring TA/pH before yeast going in for fear of ending up with another wine dud that would take another year to fix.

 

[winemaker81]

When I finally measured it it had a pH of 4.3. I brought it down to about 3.6 and tasted very acidic after that. A month later neutralized some of the added acid with potassium carbonate and it tasted flat and thin. A couple of months later I added more tartaric acid to bring the pH to 3.6 again and it really tasted weird after that.

I did the "acidity yo-yo" with a Malbec. A year later it is finally improving. I've learned to go very gentle on acid correction in either direction.

 

[Ajmassa]

I did the "acidity yo-yo" with a Malbec. A year later it is finally improving. I've learned to go very gentle on acid correction in either direction.

Especially post fermentation. 4.3 to 3.6 is a helluva post AF adjustment. And basically exactly what happened with my problem wine.

No pre-AF adjustment. Landed at 4.0 and so begun my chipping from sand trap to sand trap. Or see-saw. Or yo-yo

either way my 1st time adjusting acids I learned a hard lesson—the less tinkering I need to do the better. Get quality fruit. Dial in the must. Then only if absolutely necessary a minor post AF/mlf adjustment.

 

[Bossbaby]

First of all, don't distill the wine if it's sulfated. The product will have an unpleasant aftertaste that you won't be able to avoid. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
Sangria is a good option, if you enjoy that kind of stuff. Or frozen granita, if you have the time to put into it.

I had a 6 gal carboy like that three years ago and I managed to fix it. I messed up the acid in the beginning, than corrected it 3 times up and down after AF and it just didn't taste right no matter what I did. So I fermented a batch of elderberry wine from concentrate and mixed it with the problem wine. It was messy and left a greasy scum on everything it touched, but I didn't care. After another year of aging the 2 wines together I had 60 bottles of something unique and delicious. Many of my friends begged for another bottle and it was gone in no time. To this day they still mention it and ask me when I plan to make more of it...

speaking of elderberry, there is going to be a very nice yield of wild berries here in Wisconsin this year due to weather conditions I guess, I've already mapped out the public marshland for flowering bushes and cant wait to get at them in a couple months, I've blended elderberry with several country wines and have always wished I had made more..