Hello All,
I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
after the 3 week stage.
I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
solution.
After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.

Justin

Hello,
Could you tell us about your initial fermentation? bucket? how long?
starting & ending SG? Can you tell us what color the wines are? Do they
smell like bleach or vinegar? Sometimes we need a bit more info before we
can offer some suggestions.
I suppose if you used some old equipment which had vinegar in it then
your batch could have gone bad that way. I clean with bleach too, but I
rinse well and I've never had a problem. My other thought is that very young
wine can taste pretty bad, which you wouldn't realize because these are your
first batches; so it might be worth your while to wait a bit longer before
you get worried. I look forward to your response, it might help us figure
out what happened.
Darlene

"Justin" > wrote in message
...
> Hello All,
> I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
> after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
> was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
> My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
> both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
> after the 3 week stage.
> I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
> solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
> solution.
> After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
> guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
> spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
> Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
> opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>
> Justin

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 19:44:50 -0400, Justin > wrote:

>Hello All,
>I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
>after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
>was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
>My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
>both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
>after the 3 week stage.
>I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
>solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
>solution.
>After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
>guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
>spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
>Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
>opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>
>Justin

Three weeks is pretty early in the process to decide how a fruit wine
tastes. Let the wine finish fermenting and settling... Then decide
how it tastes.

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 19:44:50 -0400, Justin > wrote:

>Hello All,
>I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
>after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
>was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
>My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
>both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
>after the 3 week stage.
>I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
>solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
>solution.
>After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
>guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
>spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
>Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
>opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>
>Justin

I use bleach all the time with no problems. I don't see how that
coulb be the cause of viegar flavor.

I'm not sure 3 weeks is long enough to assess your wine. I've had a
few batches I thought were infected, but after aging and clearing they
turned out to be fine.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:07:26 GMT, "Dar V" > wrote:

>Hello,
> Could you tell us about your initial fermentation? bucket? how long?
>starting & ending SG? Can you tell us what color the wines are? Do they
>smell like bleach or vinegar? Sometimes we need a bit more info before we
>can offer some suggestions.
> I suppose if you used some old equipment which had vinegar in it then
>your batch could have gone bad that way. I clean with bleach too, but I
>rinse well and I've never had a problem. My other thought is that very young
>wine can taste pretty bad, which you wouldn't realize because these are your
>first batches; so it might be worth your while to wait a bit longer before
>you get worried. I look forward to your response, it might help us figure
>out what happened.
>Darlene
>
>"Justin" > wrote in message
.. .
>> Hello All,
>> I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
>> after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
>> was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
>> My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
>> both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
>> after the 3 week stage.
>> I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
>> solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
>> solution.
>> After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
>> guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
>> spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
>> Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
>> opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>>
>> Justin
>


Thanks for the quick responses. Perhaps I shouldn't go crazy and let
time take it course to make judgement on the wine.

Initial fermentation usually lasting 5-6 days, Starting SG was 1.090
for both pear and nectarine. Did not to ending SG on nectartine but
pear was .990, lowest hydrometer goes. Pear was off-white, creme
colored, clear on top cloudy at bottom and nectarine was rustic orange
color, clear at top cloudy at bottom. Pear wine smelled sour when I
opened it, nectarine smelled more like a rancid beer, with a yeasty
characteristic to it. Didn't smell like bleach at all. Like I said
I'm new at this, so I'm quite anxious, but do not want to keep working
at a wine if it is already too late by the way it tasted now. Thanks
again.

Justin

Justin,
Although I have not made those two types of fruit wine, your
descriptions sound pretty normal to me, and I do mostly fruit, veggie, and
herb wines. Young wine can taste and smell pretty bad, but as your wine
clears and more sediment drops out, and then when you rack, things should
improve. Just hang in there. Good-luck.
Darlene

"Justin" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:07:26 GMT, "Dar V" > wrote:
>
>>Hello,
>> Could you tell us about your initial fermentation? bucket? how long?
>>starting & ending SG? Can you tell us what color the wines are? Do they
>>smell like bleach or vinegar? Sometimes we need a bit more info before we
>>can offer some suggestions.
>> I suppose if you used some old equipment which had vinegar in it then
>>your batch could have gone bad that way. I clean with bleach too, but I
>>rinse well and I've never had a problem. My other thought is that very
>>young
>>wine can taste pretty bad, which you wouldn't realize because these are
>>your
>>first batches; so it might be worth your while to wait a bit longer before
>>you get worried. I look forward to your response, it might help us figure
>>out what happened.
>>Darlene
>>
>>"Justin" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> Hello All,
>>> I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
>>> after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
>>> was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
>>> My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
>>> both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
>>> after the 3 week stage.
>>> I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
>>> solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
>>> solution.
>>> After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
>>> guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
>>> spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
>>> Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
>>> opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>>>
>>> Justin
>>
>
>
> Thanks for the quick responses. Perhaps I shouldn't go crazy and let
> time take it course to make judgement on the wine.
>
> Initial fermentation usually lasting 5-6 days, Starting SG was 1.090
> for both pear and nectarine. Did not to ending SG on nectartine but
> pear was .990, lowest hydrometer goes. Pear was off-white, creme
> colored, clear on top cloudy at bottom and nectarine was rustic orange
> color, clear at top cloudy at bottom. Pear wine smelled sour when I
> opened it, nectarine smelled more like a rancid beer, with a yeasty
> characteristic to it. Didn't smell like bleach at all. Like I said
> I'm new at this, so I'm quite anxious, but do not want to keep working
> at a wine if it is already too late by the way it tasted now. Thanks
> again.
>
> Justin

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 23:35:18 GMT, "Dar V" > wrote:

>Justin,
> Although I have not made those two types of fruit wine, your
>descriptions sound pretty normal to me, and I do mostly fruit, veggie, and
>herb wines. Young wine can taste and smell pretty bad, but as your wine
>clears and more sediment drops out, and then when you rack, things should
>improve. Just hang in there. Good-luck.
>Darlene
>
>"Justin" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:07:26 GMT, "Dar V" > wrote:
>>
>>>Hello,
>>> Could you tell us about your initial fermentation? bucket? how long?
>>>starting & ending SG? Can you tell us what color the wines are? Do they
>>>smell like bleach or vinegar? Sometimes we need a bit more info before we
>>>can offer some suggestions.
>>> I suppose if you used some old equipment which had vinegar in it then
>>>your batch could have gone bad that way. I clean with bleach too, but I
>>>rinse well and I've never had a problem. My other thought is that very
>>>young
>>>wine can taste pretty bad, which you wouldn't realize because these are
>>>your
>>>first batches; so it might be worth your while to wait a bit longer before
>>>you get worried. I look forward to your response, it might help us figure
>>>out what happened.
>>>Darlene
>>>
>>>"Justin" > wrote in message
...
>>>> Hello All,
>>>> I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
>>>> after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
>>>> was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
>>>> My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
>>>> both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
>>>> after the 3 week stage.
>>>> I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
>>>> solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
>>>> solution.
>>>> After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
>>>> guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
>>>> spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
>>>> Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
>>>> opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>>>>
>>>> Justin
>>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for the quick responses. Perhaps I shouldn't go crazy and let
>> time take it course to make judgement on the wine.
>>
>> Initial fermentation usually lasting 5-6 days, Starting SG was 1.090
>> for both pear and nectarine. Did not to ending SG on nectartine but
>> pear was .990, lowest hydrometer goes. Pear was off-white, creme
>> colored, clear on top cloudy at bottom and nectarine was rustic orange
>> color, clear at top cloudy at bottom. Pear wine smelled sour when I
>> opened it, nectarine smelled more like a rancid beer, with a yeasty
>> characteristic to it. Didn't smell like bleach at all. Like I said
>> I'm new at this, so I'm quite anxious, but do not want to keep working
>> at a wine if it is already too late by the way it tasted now. Thanks
>> again.
>>
>> Justin
>


Thanks I'm going to let them ride and hopefully they are more pleasing
in the future.
In the meantime I'll be going to market and picking up more fresh
fruit.

Justin

Ah yes, and the compulsion continues...welcome to the world of winemaking. I
started with 1 gallon of rhubarb wine and 1 small wine rack. Now I make
about 20 gallons of wine a year, and I have a wine rack which can hold up to
108 bottles of wine.
Darlene

"Justin" > wrote in message
news
> On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 23:35:18 GMT, "Dar V" > wrote:
>
>>Justin,
>> Although I have not made those two types of fruit wine, your
>>descriptions sound pretty normal to me, and I do mostly fruit, veggie, and
>>herb wines. Young wine can taste and smell pretty bad, but as your wine
>>clears and more sediment drops out, and then when you rack, things should
>>improve. Just hang in there. Good-luck.
>>Darlene
>>
>>"Justin" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:07:26 GMT, "Dar V" > wrote:
>>>
>>>>Hello,
>>>> Could you tell us about your initial fermentation? bucket? how long?
>>>>starting & ending SG? Can you tell us what color the wines are? Do they
>>>>smell like bleach or vinegar? Sometimes we need a bit more info before
>>>>we
>>>>can offer some suggestions.
>>>> I suppose if you used some old equipment which had vinegar in it
>>>> then
>>>>your batch could have gone bad that way. I clean with bleach too, but I
>>>>rinse well and I've never had a problem. My other thought is that very
>>>>young
>>>>wine can taste pretty bad, which you wouldn't realize because these are
>>>>your
>>>>first batches; so it might be worth your while to wait a bit longer
>>>>before
>>>>you get worried. I look forward to your response, it might help us
>>>>figure
>>>>out what happened.
>>>>Darlene
>>>>
>>>>"Justin" > wrote in message
m...
>>>>> Hello All,
>>>>> I have recently tried making my own wine, within the last few months
>>>>> after purchasing equipment from local store and old winemaker who
>>>>> was getting old and couln't handle it any longer.
>>>>> My question is my first 2 batches, 1 was pear and the other nectarine,
>>>>> both fresh fruit, have tasted like vinegar after I went to rack them
>>>>> after the 3 week stage.
>>>>> I don't get, all my equipment is sterilized either with a bleach
>>>>> solution, I know not the best, but I am poor or sodium bisulfite
>>>>> solution.
>>>>> After the primary they were filled to the neck also. My only other
>>>>> guess is that perhaps because I used very hot tap water instead of
>>>>> spring or distilled water, but I don't see how that can do it.
>>>>> Once again I'm only a novice and thought I'd ask the experts for their
>>>>> opinions. Any other info needed let me know. Cheers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Justin
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for the quick responses. Perhaps I shouldn't go crazy and let
>>> time take it course to make judgement on the wine.
>>>
>>> Initial fermentation usually lasting 5-6 days, Starting SG was 1.090
>>> for both pear and nectarine. Did not to ending SG on nectartine but
>>> pear was .990, lowest hydrometer goes. Pear was off-white, creme
>>> colored, clear on top cloudy at bottom and nectarine was rustic orange
>>> color, clear at top cloudy at bottom. Pear wine smelled sour when I
>>> opened it, nectarine smelled more like a rancid beer, with a yeasty
>>> characteristic to it. Didn't smell like bleach at all. Like I said
>>> I'm new at this, so I'm quite anxious, but do not want to keep working
>>> at a wine if it is already too late by the way it tasted now. Thanks
>>> again.
>>>
>>> Justin
>>
>
>
> Thanks I'm going to let them ride and hopefully they are more pleasing
> in the future.
> In the meantime I'll be going to market and picking up more fresh
> fruit.
>
> Justin