Strange taste

[MAC]

With regards to the strange taste I have in my red wine which I made in November, amongst the various advice I was gratefully given, one was to leave it and hopefully it would improve, well, I have tried various bottles at random and the taste is still there, strangely enough some bottles were worse than others, i.e. a much stronger taste of whatever the hell it is, I tried mixing it with good wine but you could still detect that taste so now I have to admit defeat and pour it all down the drain which will really hurt unless someone has a better idea, I have 25 bottles and I will be crying as I pour each bottle down the sink. Mac.

[Mamgiowl]

Hold that chucking frenzy!

I saw in your earlier posts that your wife liked it. Does she still? In which case, donate the whole batch to her and make another for yourself.

One of the bits of advice given earlier was for you to keep it six months or so, so stash it away again and wait another 4 months.

And have you any better idea of exactly what it tastes like? It will truly help us to help you if you can describe it.

[MAC]

Thanks Mamgiowl. When I said my wife likes it what she meant was it should improve with age and if so she will then drink it but some bottles I have opened and she tried she definately would not drink it, she said it tasted too bitter, it's not really bitter in the normal sense of the word, in fact it's quite sweet but I can't define the taste because I have never come across it, if I had to stick my neck out and this is probably way off the mark I would say it could taste like a very strong bitter PORT ?????? MAC.

[Mamgiowl]

So what was the SG and FG? Perhaps it's just "hot" alcohol in a very dry wine. Have you tried sweetening it?

[StockeyDAW]

Thanks Mamgiowl. When I said my wife likes it what she meant was it should improve with age and if so she will then drink it but some bottles I have opened and she tried she definately would not drink it, she said it tasted too bitter, it's not really bitter in the normal sense of the word, in fact it's quite sweet but I can't define the taste because I have never come across it, if I had to stick my neck out and this is probably way off the mark I would say it could taste like a very strong bitter PORT ?????? MAC.

I agree with Mam concerning the Gravity - do you know what the gravity is now? Bitterness in wines usually happens when leaving the fruit pulp including the seeds in contact with the must for to long a period during fermentation. It could also be due to the stems or leaves or pith left on the fruits and the pips cracked open during the fermentation. I am not sure if this happened in your case. You may be able to try a teaspoon or two of a sugar syrup in the wine - well stirred in and taste as you go. Unfortunately another cause of bitterness could be bacteria which is something you do not want. Cheers Daw -- Still do not throw it out - especially if the wine has a high alcohol content (if you know both the SG and the FG as Mami suggested you should be able to determine this. If the alcohol is high try ageing for another 6 months and see what happens. Cheers Daw

[MAC]

Strange taste

Thanks to you both for your advice, I checked the S G from a random bottle and it read 995, the wine looks thick, a lot of body, I don't know what the F G is as I have not got the equipment to measure it, (I'll have to get one). [Stockeydaw, the wine is in kit form] I'll take both your advice and keep it for a few more months and see what happens but if it is contaminated I really can't see it getting any better. Thanks again, Mac.

[Richard S]

Unless I am confused or behind the times, SG = Specific Gravity and FG = final or finished gravity. MAC, the reading you took with your hydrometer is your FG as fermentation has finished. The reading of 0.995 seems ok, what kit is it and who is the manufacturer?

[Duffbeer]

Thanks to you both for your advice, I checked the S G from a random bottle and it read 995, the wine looks thick, a lot of body, I don't know what the F G is as I have not got the equipment to measure it, (I'll have to get one). [Stockeydaw, the wine is in kit form] I'll take both your advice and keep it for a few more months and see what happens but if it is contaminated I really can't see it getting any better. Thanks again, Mac.

MAC, when you describe the wine as thick, would that be like ropiness, or a viscous oily look ??

[MAC]

Hi Richard S. You are not confused, I am, yes the FG was 0.095. the kit is Australian Shiraz and I think the manufacturer is Beaverdale. I don't think it's anyones fault but mine, I've obviously done something wrong, if I remember rightly I did add extra juice to it to give it more body but where this taste is coming from I'm just not sure. One bit of advice I was given was to make another batch of red wine and when finished add a gallon of it to the bad wine and that might help it be drinkable, I've just finished a 5 gallon kit of Brewmaker Red and am ready to bottle it and already it tastes very nice.
I might try adding a couple of bottles in a 1 gallon demijohn with 2 bottles of the bad wine as I don't want to waste a whole gallon. Mac.

[MAC]

Hi Duffbeer, yes, you could describe it as a viscous oily look, quite thick looking, not like any wine I've made before but, like I said previously I did add extra juice to give it extra body

[lockwood1956]

One bit of advice I was given was to make another batch of red wine and when finished add a gallon of it to the bad wine and that might help it be drinkable,.

adding good wine to a bad wine simply makes more bad wine, try to correct the fault in the bad wine if possible.

some questions (again)

is the wine clear?
does it smell ok?


you mention it liiking thick...is that throughout the whole of the wine, or are there bits that are thicker than others?


if we could get to the bottom of the taste issue, we may be able to advise better....


is the bad taste

metallic?
chemical?
vegetal?

[Duffbeer]

Hi Duffbeer, yes, you could describe it as a viscous oily look, quite thick looking, not like any wine I've made before but, like I said previously I did add extra juice to give it extra body

Hmmm, I suspect it could well be a condition known as ropiness, it's a bacterial infection that will eventualy result in your wine becoming jelly like or clotting.
Although as I cannot see or taste your wine I could be wrong, there are two options that may work, my prefered one is to empty all the wine back into your bucket and add 1 campden tablet per gallon (or 5ml sulphite solution per gallon) and stir, allow to rest under airlock for a week or so and recheck. The other option is to pasturise by means of heating the wine to above 76c for 10 mins or so. (try not to boil)
Infact it is possible to do both methods without harming the wine.
Let us know how you get on, or recheck this post later, one of the other guy's may dissagree, but I think we're barking up the right tree.

[Richard S]

Hi Duffbeer, yes, you could describe it as a viscous oily look, quite thick looking, not like any wine I've made before but, like I said previously I did add extra juice to give it extra body

The Beaverdale Shiraz isn't a big bodied red but as a finished product it does blend well with other red wines ie Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine kits in general have everything in them that they need to make a great wine. The juice contained in the Beaverdale kits is top notch stuff and requires no further additions. What juice did you add and at what stage did you add it?

[NorthernWiner]

Very difficult to diagnose long distance. It could indeed be ropiness (which is caused by an unsavory lactic acid bacteria), however, that doesn't usually affect taste, or even smell.

If there is a winemaking club in your area, it might be worth taking it to a meeting. We often have troubleshooting sessions at the one I belong to.

Steve

[StockeyDAW]

Looks like we are getting into the unfavourable Malolactic Bacteria that may be causing this problem. For this to happen we must have malic acid or residual sugars for them to feed upon and also a low sulphite content. These are some of the smells and problems of these unfavourable bacteria: crushed geranium, vegtable smell and dirty sock after taste, cheesy stale, mousy, musty flavor (like cork taint); and the silky sheen or ropy. I have some literature that suggest that if these problems exist and the wine has been damaged by these conditions a German activated charcoal "Granucol" is available to remove off flavors and aromas (10 grams / 23 liters) and there may also be some help from fining the wine with fresh dry yeast by stirring in and letting it settle out and then being racked and another German product - fining called Top-Clear is sold specifically to reduce or eliminate off odours and flavors.?? I have not tried these options but you may think that one of the other may help. Cheers -- hope this helps. Daw