Can this be saved?

Hi all,

I started an apple wine about 12 days ago and didnt think the SG would drop so fast. I cant remember the starting SG at the moment, but its now sitting at 997

Ive just tasted it, and its undrinkable. I tastes way too strong!! Its so dry, it made me cough!

What can I do to save it or have it all just gone to waste?

The taste is not very nice to say the least, will it improve over time as I know that 2 weeks is not very long?


Many thanks in advance

PS sorry to ask so many questions in one post

Well, age does great things for wine. What was the og? I think apple wine is best about two years after making it. I usually rack into secondary and let it sit about 6-8 months before bottling. I rack it two or three times during that time, and then let it sit until I'm ready to bottle.

If it's a very high alcohol wine, it'll take a long time to age out but apple wine is one of our favorites! 12 days isn't a good judge, maybe 12 months is a better judge!

Is it ok to stop it from fermenting now? and then let it sit for a few months?

I have the OG written on a notepad somewhere, when I find it I will post it up.

Well, it's probably almost finished. It won't go lower than .990-.992. It really depends on the og and the yeast you used. It's really hard to try to give advice without know those, so I'm just giving you general information.

If you haven't already, rack it and top up to near the top of the carboy and leave it alone for about a month. In a month, check and see if you have any lees. If you do, rack again. You might have to rack every 45-60 days if you have sediment. Once you don't have lees any more, then you can bulk age it right in the carboy.

Keep it covered with a towel or blanket so it doesn't get light struck, and consider using campden tablets at the rate of one per gallon every other racking to protect the wine from oxidation since it'll be sitting around a while!

Many thanks for your help!!