Topic: Wine-Wizard
My finished wine has the aroma and taste of burnt rubber. What did I do wrong?
Dear 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
My first white wine has a fizziness and tasted like it is almost carbonated. Do you have any suggestions?
Wine 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
Can I have some advice on malo-lactic fermentation and its impact on acidity?
Dear Wine Wizard, I raised the TA of the must from 0.5 to 0.6 at the beginning of fermentation for my red wine. Should I still add malolatic bacteria to start MLF
How do I allow for suspended solids when taking hydrometer readings?
You’ve hit the nail on he head — a hydrometer reading does depend on the amount of suspended solids in the juice that you’re measuring. As sugar is more dense than water,
I want to drip a wax coating on the top of my bottles to add that special touch. Can you advise me on how to do this?
Dear Wine Wizard, I’m bottling some mead, and wanted to add that extra special touch to the finished product. I’ve seen some bottles with a wax coating on the top, the kind
My wine tastes tart and I think there is too much acid. Any suggestions to correct this problem?
You all seem to have the same problem, so I thought I’d answer you all together. Acid adjustment, or better, achieving the right acid balance, is one of the arts of winemaking.
Should I add Campden tablets each time I rack my wine and how do I measure the level of sulfite in my wine?
Hold on there, tiger! If you’ve got a standard 0.44 gram Campden tablet and you’re putting it in one gallon (3.8 L) of wine, you’re blasting it with 66 mg/L sulfur dioxide,
Are the lumbrusca riparia grapes I’m growing the same kind of grapes used to make lambrusco wine?
Dear Wine Wizard, I’m new to wine making but I have made beer and mead for three years. What types of grapes and yeast are used to make lambrusco wine? Also the
I added oak beans to several different batches of wine at the same time. Only my Chardonnay turned milky and hazy while the other wines were clear. Do you have any idea what happened?
Dear Wine Wizard, After I stabilized my wine, I added French medium toast oak beans to the Chardonnay 3/4 cup (new beans), Sauvignon Blanc 1/3 cup (new beans), Ruisseau Blanc 3/4 cup
Can you tell me what all those chemicals that come with wine kits are for and if it’s necessary to use them?
Wine Wizard replies: Your question is complex. In fact, it could lead to pages upon pages of response if I elucidated upon “all those chemicals” (and many of them are not really
How can I increase the sugar content of my juice without using refined sugar?
Wine Wizard replies: If you’ve seen a lot of home winemaking recipes that recommend pounds upon pounds of refined sugar, it’s because refined sugar is the cheapest agent available to home winemakers
Can I use my copper immersion wort chiller from brewing with my mead or other wines?
Dear Wine Wizard, I made homebrewed beer for a long time, but during the last couple of years I have gravitated more towards making wine and mead. I know that it’s safe
My wine has developed a foul taste and odor from Brettanomyces. Is it correctable?
Brettanomyces 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
How can I best save an open container of grape juice concentrate?
In regards storing your opened can of concentrate, I would freeze it. Dump the remains into a Tupperware or other freezer-safe storage container and stick it in your freezer. The high sugar
How is Fume Blanc made? I would like to make some at home!
Wine Wizard replies: The short answer to your question is: 0.45 micron nominal filter pads are the industry standard for “sterile” filtration. These pads prevent all yeast and bacteria from getting through.
Is yeast extract the same as yeast hulls and yeast nutrient? And what is the best way to use it?
Have no fear of the Champagne yeast failing to take off in your honey. As long as you dilute the honey accordingly, you’ll have a sugar solution that the yeast should happily
What changes the color to blue when water is used to clean containers that held elderberry juice I used for winemaking?
You’re right in assuming that it has something to do with acidity, but the answer you’re looking for is not exactly the presence of an acid but rather the absence of one.
Would a welding supply company be a good source of argon gas for winemaking?
Commercial wineries get a lot of their argon from welding supply houses, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t, too. The only thing that I would wonder is just how much argon you’ll
I’ve read you can use bananas to give body to thin wines. Can you please explain why this works and any impact on flavor?
Home winemakers use bananas, both dried and fresh, as a source of perceptible sweetness and body. Both effects are derived from the complex polysaccharides (that’s a fancy name for big, long-chain sugars)
Is it better to separate free-run wine from the pressed wine during fermentation and should they be blended before bottling if you are making Zinfandel?
Dear Wine Wizard, Our Zinfandel wine is now in secondary fermenters, with free-run wine separate from the pressed. Do you have advice on allowing the free and pressed wines to go their
I did not rehydrate my yeast before I pitched it. How do I do this and what happens if I don’t?
Dear Wine Wizard, I did not rehydrate my yeast before I pitched it. How do I do this and what happens if I don’t? John Eastwood Cleveland Wine Wizard replies: Rehydrating yeast
What does toasting add to oak flavor? Can I use a blowtorch on an oak plank to toast it, cut it in thin strips and add to my wine?
Dear Wine Wizard, I make wine in five-gallon batches from juice that I buy in Canada. I also buy skins, stems, and small bags of toasted oak chips, then let it all
There is a yellow ring around the top of the wine in my carboy, but the wine tastes and smells fine. What’s with the yellow ring?
Dear Wine Wizard, My partners and I, for the first time, bought Merlot grapes last year. We followed our normal procedure, which we have been using for the past five years for
What is the shelf life for dry yeast? Is there anything I can do to revive it and will it work?
Your yeast packet is almost guaranteed to be past its prime. Yeast cells, even those that have been freeze-dried, certainly do have an expiration date. Using yeast that is more than six
Can you give me some guidelines on whether or not to add sulfite to my wine?
Wine Wizard replies: To sulfite or not to sulfite: That is the question. It’s one that fires hot debates in the cellars of wineries worldwide. Sometimes seen as a personal choice, the