cloudy wine

[brewman988]

My 1st attempt at making wine is a 1 gal kit from the dept store.It will make 4 bottles of merlot.
Since starting the project,I have purchased a 6 gal kit and learned about the proper way to procede and steralize the equiptment.
Well, the 1st gallon project is due for bottling but is not clear. I probably made more mistakes on this 1st batch than I can remember but I know my equiptment wasn't properly sterilized.
the wine is cloudy with a slight brown tint.
I waited several extra days but it doesnt seem to be clearing. Is there a way to save the batch or should I cut my losses and dump it?
Thanks
CC

 

[JayC]

How long did you wait for it to clear? Something a lot of people say around here is to never dump something until you've let it age a proper amount of time and then tasted it. Looks good and tastes good aren't always the same thing. Bottle it and put it away and it may clear. Now, brown may be something else. Air (oxygen) + wine = brown. There's probably no fixing that.

 

[Nurmey]

I think I saw that kit at Bed Bath and Beyond. I can't remember what the deal was but I didn't like the looks of it. I'm not sure if it's worth saving but what do I know, it might be good. If it doesn't taste like vinegar, it's wine.

You might try a little Sparklloid (spelling?). It works really well and should clear that wine up nicely. Tossing it in the refrigerator and crash cooling it might help too.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

Wine can take it's good ole' time before it clears. Don't dump it. It will clear when it's ready to clear. Be patient.

 

[199q]

if its brown or has a slightly brown hue, its probably oxidizing or on its way quickly. either add some campden, top up and get that bad boy under air-lock. If you wait too long you will either have totally undrinkable wine, or your wine will become infected with acerbater bacteria, and you will have vinegar very quickly.

 

[brewman988]

1/17.Thanks everyone.
I cooled the wine in the garage (NY winter) for an extra 3 week then bottled it today.
I think it's no good. Even the wife commented on the brownish tint and its not clear.
I will try it soon but I don't like the looks of it. Do I have any other choice but to dump it and take it as a learning experience?
CC

 

[Patton191]

Before I did research I did my wine making of welches grape juice in milk jugs. I definitely didn't sanitize, and drank it after a week because I didn't know better. Try it before you judge it. I made another purple grape welches and after a month it is much better than the week old one I made. As was said earlier if it even remotely tastes like wine, let it sit for a while. I have made a few more batches without proper sanitizing methods and it hasn't affected any of the 3 wines and 1 apple cider that I have made. Either I am really lucky or wine is hard to get infected. Oh by the way I used bread yeast and even then it still turned out alright.

 

[bmckee56]

If your wine is oxidized and you decide you don't want to keep it. Try using a Mother of Vinegar culture and use the wine to make some homemade vinegar. You can purchase cultures from many LHBS's or online.

I now have a white and red wine vinegar jug and never throw away any wine that has not been consumed or I have deemed inadequate for wine consumption.

Salute!

P.S. Making wine at home is as obsessive as home brewing beer. You have been warned.