I had some friends over tonight and they wanted to try some of my wine..I have wine in the basement that has been bottled well over a year so My son went down and brought up a few bottles.. to say they were awful would be an understatement. I follow Jack kellers recipes for 99% of my wines and they are basically undrinkable even after a year. They smell like kerosene to me and have a really strong kerosene alcohol taste even though they are only 10-12%...now the funny thing is if I make a BERRY wine they are great. I tried pineapple...banana( 2 years in the bottle) ....asian pear....peach...crabapple.....all of em are terrible....what made it worse is my son LOVES skeeter pee. he got the idea to ferment sugar water like skeeter pee without the lemon juice then make kool aid with it.. it is fantastic and everyone here went nuts over it.. meanwhile my aged and carefully made wines were disgusting.
I am completely disgusted
- Thread starter OHIOSTEVE
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NineMilBill
Well-Known Member
Dude....that blows...
Your 2 year Banana Wine in no good? I planned on making Yooper's tomorrow...she seemed to like it, along with everyone else on the thread once the 2 year mark was reached. Doesn't give me much hope. Hmm.
Your 2 year Banana Wine in no good? I planned on making Yooper's tomorrow...she seemed to like it, along with everyone else on the thread once the 2 year mark was reached. Doesn't give me much hope. Hmm.
NineMilBill
Well-Known Member
What specifically is wrong with your banana wine? Is it just too hot? Or is there an actual off-flavor?
Steve,
I am just starting to make a few wines, so I do not have answer - just a question. If you used good ingredients, (and with multiple batches it seem like at least one would be decent) and you used good recipes, is it possible the water you have or used contributed something negative? I have three one gallon batches ready to go and two of them are yooper's recipes, so I would like to see what some of the experts tell you before I start ...
Cody
I am just starting to make a few wines, so I do not have answer - just a question. If you used good ingredients, (and with multiple batches it seem like at least one would be decent) and you used good recipes, is it possible the water you have or used contributed something negative? I have three one gallon batches ready to go and two of them are yooper's recipes, so I would like to see what some of the experts tell you before I start ...
Cody
Bourniplus
Active Member
Just a thought, what do your fermenting temperatures look like? I'm thinking the "kerosene alcohol" taste might be related to temperatures that are too high. Personnally now I ferment all my wines in the basement where temperature is about at the limit of where yeast is still active.
Hummer
Well-Known Member
Bummer about the wine faults. One lesson is to always know what your wines taste like before sharing them with friends. I know, not very helpful at this point....
After a year of aging, I don't think you'd be getting a hot alcohol taste, especially if your ABV is 10-12%. The low alcohol content may be part of the problem. It's better to shoot for 12-12.5% to avoid sanitation problems. I suspect other possible causes for the kerosene taste.
1.) Insufficient sulfite level in the starting must and at bottling.
2.) Kerosene odor/flavor is sometimes associated with Brett infection. Brettanomyces wild yeasts can destroy wines to pukey levels. It can persist in wine barrels, the wine making area and on equipment. Any chance you used a Brett yeast for beer making in the past?
3.) Some people detect kerosene in wine with disulfides or hydrogen sulfide problems. This stems from failing to punch down and stir the fruit must often enough during fermentation. As Bourniplus suggested, this is more likely to happen at high fermentation temps.
There might also have been insufficient nutrients for the yeast. Read up on hydrogen sulfide problems. See also: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblog5.asp and go to June 21, 2005. Google "hydrogen sulfide, Jack Keller" for more info.
After a year of aging, I don't think you'd be getting a hot alcohol taste, especially if your ABV is 10-12%. The low alcohol content may be part of the problem. It's better to shoot for 12-12.5% to avoid sanitation problems. I suspect other possible causes for the kerosene taste.
1.) Insufficient sulfite level in the starting must and at bottling.
2.) Kerosene odor/flavor is sometimes associated with Brett infection. Brettanomyces wild yeasts can destroy wines to pukey levels. It can persist in wine barrels, the wine making area and on equipment. Any chance you used a Brett yeast for beer making in the past?
3.) Some people detect kerosene in wine with disulfides or hydrogen sulfide problems. This stems from failing to punch down and stir the fruit must often enough during fermentation. As Bourniplus suggested, this is more likely to happen at high fermentation temps.
There might also have been insufficient nutrients for the yeast. Read up on hydrogen sulfide problems. See also: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblog5.asp and go to June 21, 2005. Google "hydrogen sulfide, Jack Keller" for more info.
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