Consistent problems with wine

[IJesusChrist]

I've made three wines, all consisting of store-bought juices of different kinds.

I end up getting 5 gallons
I add around half a pound of sugar
I add some wine yeast
And I add yeast nutrient

However I always end up with a very strong sulfur disgusting terrible undrinkable thing. I've let them age up to about a year with no luck.

What am I missing??

 

[Paps]

You can thank "Yooper" for this answer.
"Unless it's H2S, you're fine. You can try "splash racking". That is, rack the cider to another sanitized container, but allow it to splash a bit down the sides so the sulfur smell can disipate. I'd try that, before tossing it out. If it's a mild H2S, you should fix it easily.

From Jack Keller's website:
Rotten-Egg Smell: Hydrogen-sulfide gas manifests itself as the smell of rotten eggs. Pour the must or wine from one container to another for a few minutes to aerate it. Refit the airlock and wait a few hours. If the smell persists, repeat the procedure. If the smell persists after four such procedures, destroy the batch."

 

[Hexadecimus]

Stressed yeast?

Aerate and degas daily for the first 1/3 of fermentation. Continue degassing without aerating for the remainder.

You can also try adding throughout the fermentation. I was told 1/3 when pitching, 1/3 when it picks up speed, and 1/3 when you've hit the point where you stop aerating above.

Avoid sunlight and keep the temperature low and steady. I usually brew at the low end of a yeast's recommended range, or even lower. This preserves more of the wine's natural flavor and prevents off flavors from the yeast.

Check your equipment too. I've had rubber stoppers that ruined entire batches without even contacting the wine or cider directly, and yes they were made specifically for brewing and sold by a local homebrew shop.

I sort of rescued a very sulfurous batch once by racking through pure copper tubing to splash degas, then letting it age with several pennies in it. Do NOT use the later pennies that have zinc cores, just in case it eats all the way through. Pure copper only. It didn't come out good by any means, but it went from undrinkable to "I guess I can knock this back just so it doesn't go to waste".

 

[damdaman]

What yeast strain are you using and what fermentation temp? I'm guessing it's too hot.

 

[jflongo]

I've made three wines, all consisting of store-bought juices of different kinds.

I end up getting 5 gallons
I add around half a pound of sugar
I add some wine yeast
And I add yeast nutrient

However I always end up with a very strong sulfur disgusting terrible undrinkable thing. I've let them age up to about a year with no luck.

What am I missing??

When I initially add all of the juice, sugar(I used more around 10lbs) and yeast nutrient, I mix it well, and then add a 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of metabisulphite to make sure it kills any nastys that could be in there. Let that sit for 18 - 24 hrs. I then add some pectic enzyme, let it sit for about an hour, then pitch my yeast.

I then let it go for 7 - 10 days, until it's at 1.040 or lower, then rack it into secondary for close to a month.

Do you do any of this?

 

[IJesusChrist]

Ok thanks for all the replies.

I think rotten egg smell is far from the actual odor. Its a very sharp fusel smell but has hints of sulfur. Perhaps I am just letting it run too dry - I don't add much sugar and usually assumed the juice had enough to begin with. I think I'm learning this is rarely ever the case.

I think I'll just take pay closer attention to my OG reading.