Did I ruin my wine?

I am in the process of making some Merlot and primary fermentation just finished. I racked into a secondary (6gallon glass Carboy) I used a Merlot that I had from a local winery to top up. I poured it into the secondary and had a little left over so I poured it into a glass to drink.

It was not to good to say the least. It had a very sharp alcohol taste to it and smelled of finger nail polish, I have done some research and it seems that this is caused from ethyl acetate.

Will this ruin my entire batch? If not what can I do to save it? Or am I worrying about nothing? I am thinking of adding some Camden tablets (1 per gallon) I realize this will stop fermentation but I am already at an SG of .994. so I am not really worried about that.

Definitely add the camden tablets. Nail polish smell is actually acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate is the vinegar smell. That's a common misconception, I think caused because ethyl acetate is used in some nail polish. Acetaldehyde is caused by oxidation, but is bound by camden tablets so a small amount such as you have added in your topping up wine shouldn't cause a problem if you add some camden.
Was the bottle corked or screw-top? Did you leave the glass for a while before tasting? Next time taste it before adding.

The bottle was corked and i was in a hurry, the bottle was from 06, I should have tasted but that's the way it goes.

I left it sit in the glass for a good hour or so and it did get better but still was not very good. It was still drinkable just not something I would want to do on a regular basis. I will add the camden and hope for the best. lesson learned

Thanks

More about ethyl acetate -
Wikipedia says "wines with high acetic acid levels are more likely to see ethyl acetate formation, but the compound does not contribute to the volatile acidity."
I don't understand this entry at all. All my wine textbooks say that ethyl acetate is the main part of volatile acidity, and gives a vinegar smell. I have also studied wine making at a reputable university and been given samples of ethyl acetate and acetaldehyde to smell, and I know which smells more like nail polish - acetaldehyde.
On acetaldehyde wiki says "Beyond this level it imparts a sherry type character to the wine which can also be described as green apple, sour and metallic."
Sherry is correct, fino sherry smells of acetaldehyde, but green apple is malic acid, and sour and metallic isn't very accurate. Fino sherry isn't sour and metallic.

It just goes to show that you should be careful when using wikipedia.

Heavywalker said:

The bottle was corked and i was in a hurry, the bottle was from 06, I should have tasted but that's the way it goes.

I left it sit in the glass for a good hour or so and it did get better but still was not very good. It was still drinkable just not something I would want to do on a regular basis. I will add the camden and hope for the best. lesson learned

Thanks

Click to expand...

If the bottle was corked air must have got past the cork to oxidise the wine, it was probably ok when bottled.

It was ok when bottled I had a case of it from the same batch and all the others were OK and I opened another last night to see if it had the same symptoms and it was fine and tasted great. It was for sure a finger nail polish smell, there was no vinegar smell present. Hopefully I am OK, I just had the wife ad the camden tables. Well see if it works out.

Wow, you are racking into secondary already?! I am only one day behind you in my wine making career. (Yes, I have already decided that I will do this for the rest of my life ). I was planning on racking in another 5 days. I am rooting for you and your wine to turn out drinkable though!

How did you know fermentation was complete? Hydrometer? I think your wine will be fine ( I would dirnk it...), but please let us know how it turns out.

Why did you choose to top off with wine instead of just water?

I racked into the secondary on day 10 which was sunday, the reading on the hydrometer was .996 and the kit directions said that it should be at 1.00 or lower so I racked it. I think the reason that the kit directions want you to rack so soon is because it was sitting on the skins. I topped up with wine because it was quite a bit short on the volume and I didn't want to water the wine down to much.

I think the wine will turn out alright, I have talked to multiple people who seen to think that adding the camden tablets was the right thing to do and the wine should suffer no ill effects as a result of this little mishap. As always in wine making time will tell....