Do i have wine?

Tennessee Brew · Feb 11, 2021

Main thing is get away from open fermenting. Always put that thing under air lock. It reduces your chances of getting things in there that can cause it to go bad. You might be getting that bitterness from the 1/4 apple cider vinegar.
If it does not have a "foul" smell then you most likely have wine, just not the taste you desire. The good thing about wines if you can doctor them up to alter the taste so you can probably do that.

*NOTE: Foul smells or odd colors are bad. You will know foul when you smell it trust me. My first wine was when I was a young boy, it went bad and smelled like haunted toilet water.

Lijowa · Feb 16, 2021

I tried about say 1/2 c of the wine. Knocked me on my rear. Is that normal? I'm a lightweight.

Lijowa · Feb 16, 2021

This is so funny. I wasnt expecting that.

Lijowa · Feb 16, 2021

I cant even walk.

Lijowa · Feb 16, 2021

I cant even stay standing.

Erik the Awful · Feb 22, 2021

I would try simmering the ingredients for an hour or a few on the stove - don't let it boil or it'll get cloudy. Let it cool, add campden tablets, wait 24 hours, then pitch the yeast. Don't bother reheating after that. Punch the must down daily. Since you don't have a hydrometer, when the must drops and there's nothing to punch down, wait another day or two and put it in secondary fermentation in the carboy with an airlock.

The camden tablets are a must for killing off unwanted bacteria. The airlock is a close second, and the hydrometer third. I don't know if the campden tablets would kill off bacteria from the vinegar - I'd be inclined to leave the vinegar out.

bernardsmith · Feb 22, 2021

If you simmer fruit you cook it (and wine making typically does not involve heat. Brewing does) and if you cook the fruit you will kill any and all bacteria - even at temperatures below boiling. It's heat that pasteurizes not temperature: you can effectively pasteurize at lower temperatures if you apply that heat for longer and an hour even at 160 F will unquestionably kill any yeast. Cooking, however, sets any pectins in the fruit: think jam rather than wine. And when you set pectins it ain't easy to produce a bright and clear wine.