Hey all.. Ive hit the archives here a few times in the last year hunting for answers.. and now Ive got a question so hope you can help
My wife and I begun making homemade blackberry wine with a recipe from one of the local diy beer stores in Sept 09..
This wasnt from a pre-made wine kit etc.. just raw ingredients..
We racked it a few times.. the last time being Jan 23rd 10.. and then figured on letting it age in the carboy..
Now.. when I last racked it, I threw in Campden tablet and put the airlock on top.. (not the cork/plug..) since then Ive topped up the airlock a few times and have just let the carboy sit in its dark closet and do its thing...
Kinda forgot about it for the last few months.. and when I opened the closet the other day I found the water in the airlock was a bit low.. and when I look through the carboy at the wine there's a film of something floating across a fair bit of the top surface of the wine..
A friend who'd done this before mentioned that when his went bad/contaminated he knew it purely by the stench.. I dont get that at all from this.. but hey.. what the heck do I know..
Not wanting to poison myself (is that even possible?) I havent tried a taste or anything..
So.. have I screwed myself?
If not.. are there any steps I should be taking prior to bottling .. or can I just siphon it off into bottles we've cleaned and sterilized with Iodophor?
thanks..
Brett
My wife and I begun making homemade blackberry wine with a recipe from one of the local diy beer stores in Sept 09..
This wasnt from a pre-made wine kit etc.. just raw ingredients..
We racked it a few times.. the last time being Jan 23rd 10.. and then figured on letting it age in the carboy..
Now.. when I last racked it, I threw in Campden tablet and put the airlock on top.. (not the cork/plug..) since then Ive topped up the airlock a few times and have just let the carboy sit in its dark closet and do its thing...
Kinda forgot about it for the last few months.. and when I opened the closet the other day I found the water in the airlock was a bit low.. and when I look through the carboy at the wine there's a film of something floating across a fair bit of the top surface of the wine..
A friend who'd done this before mentioned that when his went bad/contaminated he knew it purely by the stench.. I dont get that at all from this.. but hey.. what the heck do I know..
Not wanting to poison myself (is that even possible?) I havent tried a taste or anything..
So.. have I screwed myself?
If not.. are there any steps I should be taking prior to bottling .. or can I just siphon it off into bottles we've cleaned and sterilized with Iodophor?
thanks..
Brett