Fermented sorbate makes bad flavor?

[Zider]

Hi

I'm from uk cider zone and used to make scrumpy from apples. Due to low availability of free apples here in Quebec I turned to juice from shop to make and apple wine. 1 gall apple juice 1 pound sugar. Pectinase yeast nutrient and some champagne yeast. It's pretty potent but has a very weird 'socky' aroma. Juice was preserved w sorbate. I read some yeasts can ferment that into something horrible. Wine faults page on wikipedia describes it as a geranium leaf smell. I've no idea what that smells of, could it be the cause?
Now I am doing vitC preserved Tropicana. Main problem I see is cider apples taste puke but brew out great. In UK used to substitute cooking apples. Here in Canada cooking apples are unheard of. No one cooks apples I guess or Canadian has too sweet a tooth to take it. No matter, can one create the acidity with citric acid? Shop juice seems very bland and flavor is the problem not acidity

 

[david_42]

They are also called tart or pie apples, but you are unlikely to find any juice made from tart apples in a store. Ascorbic acid ( Vit. C) is a good way to add tartness and it acts as a preservative.

How old is your apple wine? Less than a year is too young.

 

[Zider]

2 months young. But smell is like nothing normal. It is super dry.

I found Quebec has some English and French cider apple varieties. Now I need to find them and get them into juice and pay as little as possible, not boutique farmer's marchee prices. Prob is cider here is fruit juice and it'll take a bit of rummaging to dig out the truth. Also not helped by the ice cider nonsense going on. Lots of room for confusion. Tropicana mid brew tasted ok, ( over flowed due to vigorous ferment with the hot spell today). It seems that all these fruitjuice wines will lack body. Maybe raisins might help?

 

[Zider]

tropicana juice wine is still hazy despite isinglass
I found a supplier of apple juice at
www.cidreriecryo.com
I've not been there but it was recommended by the homebrewshop
I'll report after visit