Topic: Troubleshooting
Controlling Brettanomyces: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYBrettanomyces has been known to take hold of wines —and entire wineries — destroying countless hours of hard work that was put into creating these wines. However, there are also regions in
Volatile Sulfur Compounds and Hydrogen Sulfide in Wine
MEMBERS ONLYIf you have ever encountered volatile sulfur compounds in wine, of which hydrogen sulfide is the most common, you know how repulsive the smell can be. It can shoot one’s anxiety up
Home Winemaking Quality Control
MEMBERS ONLYWhen the editors at WineMaker suggested quality control (QC) for a story, I was delighted to take it on. I have a long personal and professional history with QC and it infuses
20 Home Winemaking Troubleshooting Tips
MEMBERS ONLYIn a notebook of fermentation hobby records, I have a lab report dated November 3, 1998. That soil pre-plant analysis from Fruit Growers Laboratory marked my start 20 years ago in becoming
Reductive Resolutions
MEMBERS ONLYYour question about how to avoid a swampy, reductive odor in your Chardonnay after bottling is an interesting one. For readers who may not be aware, “reductive” is a non-exact sensory term
Impact of Oxygen on Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYOxygen’s presence or absence at the various stages of winemaking can have extraordinarily important and lasting effects on what our wines taste like. Too much and you risk oxidation damage, too little
Re-Fermentation Issues
MEMBERS ONLYLet me put on my thinking cap. Indeed I think you are facing a re-fermentation and I’d bet that it is due to your 1% residual sugar, but perhaps secondarily to a
Troubleshooting Wine Kit Aroma
MEMBERS ONLYBefore we finish shooting smelly troubles in wine kits we need to do a quick recap of the basics of troubleshooting: Almost all of these issues can be avoided if you carefully
Sweetening Wine Without Refermentation
MEMBERS ONLYUnfortunately, there are only so many options for preventing fermentation in sweet wines and they all involve some degree of sacrifice or difficulty. The list of “cons” is long compared with the
Sluggish Fermentations — Cabernet Franc
MEMBERS ONLYSee my response here regarding general information about stuck and sluggish fermentations. Your wine is a lot closer to dryness (essentially 0 °Brix) than the previous reader’s sweetest lot, so I don’t
Adding Copper
MEMBERS ONLYAs you’ve probably read in my columns and in the Winemaker’s Answer Book, though I like to “let wine be what it will be,” when it comes to potentially toxic things like
I accidentally made my sulfite solution at 20%. Is the wine still drinkable?
MEMBERS ONLYSince I don’t know what your “recommended” number was it’s impossible for me to know what a double addition is in this case. Therefore, you should definitely exercise caution before drinking and
Should I try using carbon dioxide whenever I rack to expel oxygen. Or should I bottle sooner?
MEMBERS ONLYI have to commiserate with you on the Sangiovese and oxidation dance. For some reason, this grape varietal seems to be especially prone to color (and related oxidation) issues. Much like Pinot
I have about 30 gallons (114 L) of Cabernet Franc in 5-gallon (19-L) carboys that have a small yellow ring in the neck. Do you have any suggestions?
MEMBERS ONLYThe dreaded “ring around the carboy” strikes again! Quickie answer – your instincts are correct. I would rack to clean containers and, since you’ve already added SO2, and since I doubt your
How do I really know that my juice is Syrah, and are there Syrahs that don’t have that deep purple color?
MEMBERS ONLYI purchased Syrah juice this past fall from a well-established distributor of grapes and juice in California and have gone through usual fermentation and stabilization processes. The wine has now been aging
I recently bottled a batch of Cabernet Sauvignon, which tastes fine but has an off odor. Did I miss something, or will this go away with aging?
MEMBERS ONLYI recently bottled a batch of Cabernet Sauvignon, which tastes fine but has an off odor. I keep all my notes and regularly follow the same procedures. I buy my juice already
Off Odors, Port-Style Wines: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYI recently bottled a batch of Cabernet Sauvignon, which tastes fine but has an off odor. I keep all my notes and regularly follow the same procedures. I buy my juice already
Tannin Myths and Methods
FREEFrom modern wine chemistry labs to your home winery — what is known about tannins and how can winemakers control their impact on their wine? Research is debunking many widely-held beliefs about
Tannin Myths and Methods
MEMBERS ONLYFrom modern wine chemistry labs to your home winery — what is known about tannins and how can winemakers control their impact on their wine? Research is debunking many widely-held beliefs about
Building Brass, Fortifying Facts: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYAfter reading a recent article in WineMaker about using a pump to transfer wine, I put together my own pumping system. My question pertains to the possible negative effect of the wine
Reconditioning Corks, Bottle Film: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYI have a number of novelty corks I brought back from Europe in 1960. They haven’t been used since then, so they are quite dry. Can anyone tell me if there is
Adding Acid to Sanitize, Sparkling Situation: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYAcid for sanitizing In The Winemaker’s Answer Book (on page 54), you say to add 12 grams of citric or tartaric acid to your sanitizing solution. Is it OK to use an
Volatile Acidity, Refractometers: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYOak chips, mesh bag? I am using Flextanks and oak chips for my wine and am really liking the results. However, I put the oak chips in loose and they clog up
Testing for Dryness, Empty Airlock: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYTesting troubles I’ve been frustrated with the use of Clinitest tablets for measuring the end point or final dryness in my homemade wine and have been wondering and reading about the use
Malolactic in Action, Lowering pH: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYVisual MLF? I’ve got about 5 gallons of Baco Noir that just finished fermentation. I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York and I understand that both the region and