wine

[jackson84]

I have just started brewing wine at home and I was gutted to find my peach wine has began to smell and has the taste of vinegar. I have done everything the instructions said. Can someone give me any advice why this has happened

 

[JohnT]

The cause is always poor sanitation. Vinegar is formed by a very specific and very common form of bacteria.

Reexamine your sanitation techniques. Are you using k-meta? Are you leaving the wine exposed to air for any length of time? Are you using natural fermentation?

Tell us more about your "steps" you are following and where you currently are in the process. Could it be that the wine simply has fermented dry and has yet to be back-sweetened?

 

[jackson84]

Hi thank you for your reply. I bought my demijohn from Wilkinson and the set of peach wine in the can. I sterilised all my equipment using the powder included.
I added the syrup to my container along with 1.8 litres of cold water along with the yeast etc then after day 3 I topped my water up with cooled boiled water
When the fermenting had finished I added the flavouring sachet and this is when I noticed the smell and taste.
The only time my airlock has been removed is only when required. Thanks again

 

[Turock]

The 2 causes of vinegar production are not enough meta and too much headspace. Vinegar is an oxidative process so it takes oxygen to produce it. Keep your carboys topped all the way up to prevent it.

Not sure why you waited until the 3rd day of the ferment to add water.

 

[jackson84]

No no on day one I added the syrup 1.8 litres of water along with the sugar and yeast and on day 3 I added more water but only to the neck of the demijohn should I of filled it to the top of the bottle so that the bung is touching the water?
I hope this makes sense as this is my first attempt

 

[jackson84]

And what is meta?

 

[wineforfun]

Potassium Metabisulfite.

 

[Turock]

Topping up with water just dilutes the result. However, it's very important to top up to prevent too much oxygen exposure to the wine. We never dilute our wines by topping up with water. Instead, we have various sizes of glassware. It helps to have gallon jugs, 3 liter jugs, 3 gallon carboys,etc. For small amounts, you can even use wine bottles.

 

[heatherd]

@jackson84

Do you have a hydrometer? Can you test the specific gravity?

If the batch is not done fermenting, you may be able to add more concentrate to compensate for too much water.

If the batch is done fermenting, add Potassium Metabisulfite (kmeta for short). If the vinegar smell persists, you have an issue.

Refer to page 6:
https://people.ok.ubc.ca/neggers/Chem422A/Organoleptic Defects in Wine.pdf
It says that keeping your wine topped off (with wine) will prevent this, as will having all your equipment sanitized.

This is the only reference I found on how to fix it:
https://psuwineandgrapes.wordpress.com/category/enology-2/wine-defects-enology/
"Fixing High VA Wines

Why all of this information about volatile acidity?

This is one wine defect that is much easier to prevent than to remediate. In lower VA-issue wines, blending with a non-contaminated and lower VA wine is often selected. It is important for winemakers to ensure that the high-VA wine is sterile filtered (confirmed by analysis) and moved into a properly sanitized storage vessel until it can be blended.

Higher VA wines (>0.7 g/L) are a greater issue, and it may be challenging to blend them away or they may have to be blended away in small quantities over time. The only practical option for wines with a very high VA is the use of reverse osmosis (RO), which can often be contracted out to various wine technology companies. RO can be costly and depending on the company, it may not be a practical solution to minimize ethyl acetate concentrations.

Ignoring the flaw is not recommended, as VA is regulated by the TTB and limits are set for various wine styles. Please visit the TTB website here for more information on volatile acidity regulations [27 CFR 4.21(a.iv.)]."

From Wine Folly
"Volatile Acidity …aka Acetic acid
What it is: This can be one of the most common wine faults, known as vinegar taint, but it is also a tool used by some high quality winemakers to develop complexity in their flavor profiles. Very high levels of acetic acid taste like stomach acid…but tastes vary from one wine drinker to another on how much is too much in the wine. In other words, some vinegar taint is on purpose and that style just isn’t for you. Some is a wine making fault; an accidental or inadvertent overdose of acetic acid."

From wikipedia
"Ethyl acetate
Ethyl acetate is formed in wine by the esterification of ethanol and acetic acid. Therefore wines with high acetic acid levels are more likely to see ethyl acetate formation, but the compound does not contribute to the volatile acidity. It is a common microbial fault produced by wine spoilage yeasts, particularly Pichia anomala, Kloeckera apiculata, and Hanseniaspora uvarum. High levels of ethyl acetate are also produced by lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria. The sensory threshold for ethyl acetate is 150–200 mg/L. Levels below this can give an added richness and sweetness, whereas levels above impart nail polish remover, glue, or varnish type aromas."

Also, I generally ferment in a white food grade bucket, and later rack to a carboy/demijohn with a bung and top off with a similar wine.

Good luck!
Heather

 

[JohnT]

No no on day one I added the syrup 1.8 litres of water along with the sugar and yeast and on day 3 I added more water but only to the neck of the demijohn should I of filled it to the top of the bottle so that the bung is touching the water?
I hope this makes sense as this is my first attempt

Jackson,

It occurred to me that you were fermenting in the demijohn. If this is the case, DO NOT fill it all the way up. In fact, I would advise against fermenting in a demijohn all together.

For fermentation, you NEED room. Between the expelled gasses and also the yeasty froth that normally forms, you will experience the "Volcano effect" if you fill your demi up too much. Sealing it with a fermentation trap will most definitely have "EXPLOSIVE" results. There are many members here that learned this lesson while scrubbing sludge off of their walls and ceiling.

What most people do is to use a "Primary Fermenter". for a 54 liter demijohn, I would go with a 30 gallon brute garbage can (unused) which is food safe. In either case, my rule of thumb is to leave 30% empty space until the Specific Gravity falls to 1.0 or less (if you do not have a hydrometer, you should get 2). At that point, transfer to a demijohn, filling it up to about 2 inches from the stopper.

I would also go so far as to say that you should simply cover your primary fermenter with a plastic sheet. Maintaining an air tight seal during fermentation is not very important since the amount of CO2 that is produced will create a "positive pressure blanket" that will protect the wine from outside elements. This "open fermentation" also has the added benefit of making it easier for other more undesirable gasses to escape. Also, a little O2 during fermentation (especially at the beginning) is also a good thing.

Also, never top off with water. As Turock said, water will only throw off your PH/TA and dilute the flavor. Always top off with a similar wine.

Hope you try this again. There is nothing better than sipping on that first batch that turned out good!!!