HELP: Potato wine issue.....

[13astrand]

Hi All, I made 1 gallon of potato wine a few years back and it tasted gorgeous. So basically doing a 10 gallon batch. The thing is I have grated, cooked and squeezed all the potato through muslin cloth. The thing is it was late at night when I finished so left the result over night in buckets. The starchy liquid had now turn dark black. Am I still able to use it or gave I made a big mistake?? I was hoping to complete the rest of the batch tonight. Any info. Would be great. Thanks. Adam


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[jensmith]

Potatoes turn black when exposed to air. No harm done, just ugly. I have not made a potato wine yet, its on my list of wines to make!


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[13astrand]

I really recommend it! Though I have just thrown away about 4 hours of hard work and £13 worth of potatoes. That said I would rather I hadn't spent 12 months making a 10 gal batch that would have made people ill. I treated it like food that it is. I should have added the sugar and water straight away. Not have left it for 24 hours after cooking. Perfect for bacteria multiplication I think I'm now going to make use of my 30 oranges and make a 10 gallon batch of orange wine instead.


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[WVMJ]

Did it stink? IF not it wasnt bacteria but as mentioned above may be oxidation, also are you using stainless steel pots to cook it up in? Are you familiar with sulfites in making wine yet? It helps to protect from contamination bugs AND oxidation. You may also want to pick up some Amylase enzyme to further break down the starches and even help to clear it in the end. We havent made potatoe yet, though we thought about doing a sweet potato vs a regular one but have done carrot wine before and it is surprising what a nice white wine that can make. WVMJ

 

[PatrickSweetman]

The blackness is from enzymes oxidizing phenols to tannins. Your potatoes must not have been cooked. The tannins are not toxic, but they may give a bitter taste. Best to learn from the mistake and throw away, I think.

Apples and other fruit/veg can also have this reaction. Lemon juice (citric acid) is supposed to inhibit it, but that gives you the sourness of the acid. Immersion in water with cambden tablets added may work too, but better to work fast in small batches and avoid the problem.

 

[HollyGayle]

My mother made potato wine years ago. It was fabulous. I'll be checking into it later.
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Mom's Potato Wine is long gone. I'll be checking out one gallon kit batches of different types of wines, ciders, meads and wine coolers these days. Trying to keep everything within my strength capabilities and energy levels. When I can get some wine grapes growing, I'll be working with those. Love trying out new things. So far, my favorite non-soda drink is Seagram's Fuzzy Navel.