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Ethyl Acetate - Pear Drops Smell - Acetone

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  • Ethyl Acetate - Pear Drops Smell - Acetone

    Bob,

    Really interested in your experience relating to an acetone smell & taste in wine which surfaced in a kit review on Cantina Pinot Grigio. I've been googling and see a lot of information about it but am hoping, by posting a specific thread on the matter, you might tell us about it and home made wine.

    The Cantina which suffered from this really badly is a kit that is less than 23L. So I think it was in a 23L carboy for perhaps 2 weeks, racked after fermenting (but stabilized) with about 3L of headroom.

    But I've noticed 'hints' of acetone in other brews.

    How does it happen? Will more sulphite prevent it?

    As you can read - I'm full of questions, I hope you have the patience to dump your knowledge and experience - it would, as always, be very much appreciated.
    Now bottling 20DJs of 2013 red and making room to rack 5 carboys of 2014 red to the DJs where they can wait for another winter.
    Thank goodness for eBay! (local cache of DJs)

  • #2
    Originally posted by ToulouseLePlot View Post
    The Cantina which suffered from this really badly is a kit that is less than 23L. So I think it was in a 23L carboy for perhaps 2 weeks, racked after fermenting (but stabilized) with about 3L of headroom.
    I'm not Bob, but I've had a couple of experiences with ethyl acetate issues in wine, and can tell you that the excessive ullage in your carboy was more than likely the cause of the problem. Containers must be topped up and sulphite levels maintained to prevent it.
    Steve

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    • #3
      Steve has answered your question and as i stated in the other thread excessive head space is indeed the root of this problem, and as it happens many others.

      it is a bummer to lose a wine this way, but it is at least a lesson learned.

      So the watchword is: top everything up correctly or problems can occur

      regards
      Bob
      N.G.W.B.J.
      Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
      Wine, mead and beer maker

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      • #4
        This is a yeast infection. Small amounts can be produced by all yeast, but commercial yeasts have this sort of thing minimized.
        If this is happening repeatedly consider wine and winery sanitation. As the chaps before have said keep everything topped up and correctly sulphited. If you brew in a particular area, make it yeast unfriendly- cleaning surfaces and stuff with strong sulphite solution. If you think it might be caused by particular equipment thoroughly sanitize, and consider leaving all vessels with a slug of sulphite solution in them. This method 'always clean' is better than 'wash before use'. Finally ... just to really set your head on fire - older equipment can have scratches/marks/nooks and crannies which harbor grobblies - you may want to consider replacement.
        Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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        • #5
          This is helpful, many thanks. I just checked, the Cantina was a 28 bottle kit, with standard carboys I guess the thing to do would have been to make it as a 30 bottle?

          Cellar Rat - you scare me. I can live with the idea that headspace turned one batch into pear-drops, but to think that my winery is under a microbiological attack is just awful. I'll keep up the fastidious cleaning & sterlising regime and hope that Steve has the cause pinned down, but thanks for the warning.
          Now bottling 20DJs of 2013 red and making room to rack 5 carboys of 2014 red to the DJs where they can wait for another winter.
          Thank goodness for eBay! (local cache of DJs)

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          • #6
            Oh dear, I find I am the bearer of bad news - your winery is under continual microbiological attack. But don't panic - all wineries are.

            I have made wine from wild yeast - it starts spontaneously. Vinegar will to - all it needs is the right environmental conditions
            There is yeast all around us and in the equipment in the winery, the only thing we can do is our best to keep it to a minimum and make all our vessels, surfaces and equipment yeast unfriendly.
            This might sound a little bit grandmother and eggs, but on a food hygiene course I was reminded of the difference between washing and sanitising, water is for washing but you need something stronger for sanitising.

            Always keep your cleaning solution made up and to hand - I have pretty much a waterless winery, if nothing gets dirty it doesn't need cleaning.
            Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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