Topic: Troubleshooting
I recently bottled a batch of Cabernet Sauvignon, which tastes fine but has an off odor.
MEMBERS ONLYI wish I could help you out with your off-odor issue a little bit more than I think I’ll be able to. Because you didn’t include many details about what your off odor smells like or any analysis or many winemaking details, it’s tough to diagnose from afar and help you treat this problem or
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 tannins, but there are still proven ways to get the structure you desire without excessive bitterness or astringency. Here’s a quick summary of
What is the film forming inside my bottles?
MEMBERS ONLYI am making wine from my own grapes in Alpine, California and have noticed that occasionally a light film forms on the inside of some bottles. I am very meticulous about keeping my winemaking area clean and sanitary. The bottles I use, if new, get a light sulfite rinse prior to bottling. If they are
I have a half ton of Merlot… that seems to be getting some volatile acidity…
MEMBERS ONLYShort answer (and it might work if your volatile acidity (VA) level is low enough, say, under 0.55 g/L, depending on your sensory threshold) is to bump up your free SO2 and see if the smell goes away. Sometimes what we perceive as “VA character” can actually come from aldehydes, which get bound up with
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 of electronic blood glucose meters that diabetics use. There have been several discussions in various forums and some scholarly work from UC-Davis back
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 the grape I’m using means that high acid will be an issue. This is only my second attempt at winemaking, so I’m still
Can MLF bacteria become airborne?
MEMBERS ONLYSpring and summer are ideal times for yeast and bacteria, who may have been mid-ferment when cold winter weather hit, to wake up after a long sleep and begin partying again! I’m sure many of our fellow readers experience this phenomena at some time. If this re-fermentation happens when the wine is in bulk storage,
Refermentation, malo on the move: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYWhat’s with the fizz? I bottled an Amarone from juice about six months ago. I have been trying it every couple of months to see how it is coming along. I opened a bottle last night and it has become carbonated. Is there any way to fix this? Jeffrey Dillon Glen Arm, Maryland Since you
Wine Wizard Revealed & Top 10 Winemaking Questions
MEMBERS ONLYA Word From the Publisher And the Wine Wizard is……. “When will my fermentation stop?” “Why did my fermentation stop?” One thing I can count on as publisher of WineMaker magazine is that each day winemakers will email us asking for help and looking for answers. When WineMaker launched in 1998, we realized the importance
The Perils of Volatile Acidity
FREEIt’s as much a process as it is a condition. It’s also a perfectly natural part of the fermenting process. It can happen at any time and depending on when and how
I noticed an oily film on top of my Norton before I racked it. What should I be worried about and how do I fix it?
MEMBERS ONLYNorton is a fun variety of red wine to make and certainly is a big favorite in the Midwest. I’ve tried some good Nortons over the years and I can share your worries over the wine’s high acid levels. However, before I get into that, let me address your first problem. It sounds like you
Is there any way to save a flat and watery wine I made?
MEMBERS ONLYThough making fruit-based wine is a little different from making grape-based wine, you always want to make sure you’ve got enough sugar, acid, tannin and aromatic and flavor compounds to result in a stable (over 10% alcohol), zippy (over 6.0 g/L total acidity) and flavorful beverage. The “numbers” are relatively easy to shoot for and
How do I get copper sulfate in accurate diluted food grade form? I would like to treat 5 gallons (19 L) of stinky fruit wine to get rid of the rotton sewer smell.
MEMBERS ONLYDear Wine Wizard, How do I get copper sulfate in accurate diluted food grade form? I would like to treat 5 gallons (19 L) of stinky fruit wine to get rid of the rotten sewer smell. Michael Seckora Hillsboro, Oregon The Wiz Responds: Copper sulfate solution is one of those winemaking tools that seems to
I added grape concentrate to boost the sweetness of a dry wine at bottling and added sorbate. The flavor is good, but there is some kind of gas in the wine. Any thoughts on what happened?
MEMBERS ONLYDear Wine Wizard, I made a Muscadine wine this year that ended up very dry with harsh flavor. I wanted it to have more of a grape flavor so I added some grape concentrate to it. I achieved the flavor that I wanted, but there is some kind of gas in the wine (you can
Negative Impacts of Oxygen
MEMBERS ONLYPositive effects of oxidation? How can that be? Winemakers know that oxygen negatively affects wine and they process wine with the utmost care to prevent oxidation. Two common winemaking practices that have a positive influence are macroaeration and microoxygenation. Both are used in making some of the best reds and whites, evidenced by the rows
I’ve noticed crystals forming inside my Zinfandel bottles. Do you have an explanation?
MEMBERS ONLYDear Wine Wizard, I have been making red Zinfandel wine at home with juice concentrate. I‘ve noticed crystals forming inside and they stick to the bottle. When you shake the bottle they disappear, but when you let it stand for a few minutes they come back and stick to the bottle again. I am stumped
My wine has some kind of flies buzzing around the must. Do I need to throw this batch out?
MEMBERS ONLYMy condolences on experiencing your first visitation by the ever present, but never welcome, Drosophila melanogaster — more commonly known as the common fruit fly. These prolific and pesky little airborne bugs are the bane of not only the home winemaker, but of anyone who has left a peach to rot in the kitchen fruit
What can I do to make my wine more dry and less sweet?
FREEMore experienced winemakers than yourself have spent eons trying to ponder the conundrum of a stuck fermentation. If you wanted the wine to be dry and it ended up sweet, it means
Fixing Common Mistakes: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWinter is a good time to take a critical look at your cellar techniques. With a nod to the new year and its requisite resolutions, we asked two professional winemakers to discuss common winemaking mistakes and how to avoid or correct them. Here’s to error-free wine in 2003! Winemaker: Morten Hallgern is a Danish citizen
Wine Kit First Aid
FREEYou: a happy winemaking citizen, going about your lawful fermentation business, enjoying the marvellous convenience and quality that the wine-kit industry has provided you. Your kit wine: usually a tractable and pleasant
What can I do to prevent my recurring problem of excess CO2 in my wines?
MEMBERS ONLYUnless you artificially carbonate your still wines by kegging them, there is only one possible source of carbon dioxide in wines — microbes, specifically little bacteria and yeastie beasties that love to inhabit wine even after all of the fermentable sugar has been used up. If you’ve measured your wine for dryness by using a
My finished wine has the aroma and taste of burnt rubber. What did I do wrong?
MEMBERS ONLYDear Wine Wizard, Here’s one problem you may have been asked about before. My finished wine has an aroma and taste of rubber and burnt toast, a bit like burnt rubber. Since I will be making more wine this year, I sure would like to know what I’m doing wrong. Would you let me know?
Avoiding Wine Kit Pitfalls
FREEThere are a lot of wine kits out there today, and their variety and quality is improving. Kits wines are designed to be easy to make, but they’re not foolproof. Even kit
My first white wine has a fizziness and tasted like it is almost carbonated. Do you have any suggestions?
FREEWine Wizard replies: First of all, you need to make sure that the fermentation is finished. You do this by checking your sugars with a hyrdrometer. Fermentation for a “dry” wine is
My wine has developed a foul taste and odor from Brettanomyces. Is it correctable?
MEMBERS ONLYBrettanomyces is a particularly nasty yeast that is often the bane of the collective existence of many winemakers. Its foul-smelling byproducts have often been called “barnyardy” or “mouse pee-like” on the sensory scale and it can often be detected in very minute quantities. As to eradicating the microorganism that caused your wine to go down