FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

wrote:
> Thanks for helping!! I guess the wine is going sour on me, not really
> vinegar??? I started with a "kit" wine and then a juice concentrate
> wine. They just smelled "sour" after secondary fermentation. I top
> off to leave the 2 inch. head space recomended??? I even use bleach
> before "one seep" for cleaning. Our water is very hard, but I use
> reverse osmosis, oterwise our water is not drinkable.
> thanks again, I will not give up!!!
>
> Norm
>
Hi Norm

I've never made a kit wine but kits are designed to make balanced wines.
You say it smells sour. How does it taste? If it doesn't taste sour
then it's probably not sour. When topping up I try to take the wine up
to the bottom of the "knuckle" on a carboy.

As far as cleaning goes, why use bleach? There is a risk of
contamination of TCA. Once the contamination happens it can't be fixed.
Why play a game you can't win?

If you haven't purchased an acid test kit you should do so. It is
inexpensive and will tell you the Total (titratable) Acidity of your
wine. If you can afford it purchase a pH meter so that you will have
that information, too. With these tools you will be able determine if
there are problems and decide on a course of action.

Regards

Frank