Strawberry wine egg smell

[billmiller007]

I made strawberry wine with fresh amazing strawberries. I have racked it once before And yesterday i racked it again. The first time i racked the wine smelled awesome. I do not want to stabilize or kill the yeast as i want to bottle condition and create sparkling wine. But last night it smelled bad. Defiantly sulphur. How can i rack and splash with oxidizing? I degassed as i am at the two month mark and it is now sitting in full carboys. Any advice?

 

[DoctorCAD]

Campden will protect it during splash racking.

 

[billmiller007]

If I add campden will this inhibit me from bottle conditioning and turning it into sparkling wine?

 

[Yooper]

If I add campden will this inhibit me from bottle conditioning and turning it into sparkling wine?

No. Campden is used as an antioxidant. It doesn't impact yeast. alcohol is the thing that will stress or kill yeast- a higher alcohol wine that is near the yeast strain's tolerance will be tough to carb up. But since most strawberry wines are around 12%, and many yeast strains go to 14-16%, that should be ok. The only problem is that if you used a yeast strain that has an alcohol tolerance of 12-14% or so, or a yeast strain that otherwise poops out at that ABV.

Campden (sulfites) are used to protect the wine from oxidation during racking as well as to prevent other microbes from taking hold in the wine. Wine yeast is not impacted by sulfites, so that's why winemakers use them routinely.

 

[billmiller007]

This is a big help thank you. For 8 gallons how many tabs should i use? The wine should come in around 10% at most. The first wine i made a year ago was rocket fuel and needed almost two years to settle. I brew beer and wine is totally new to me. This is maybe my 5th batch total. Thanks for the advice. I assume you just crush, let sit for 12 hours and shake and pour. When i have used the tabs it always said dont cover. Should i place the airlock back on after adding?

 

[lumpher]

you'd have to use so many campden tablets it would ruin the wine completely to totally kill the yeast. when i package up my wine, i use 1 tablet / gallon, and let it sit for a few days, then package.

 

[Yooper]

This is a big help thank you. For 8 gallons how many tabs should i use? The wine should come in around 10% at most. The first wine i made a year ago was rocket fuel and needed almost two years to settle. I brew beer and wine is totally new to me. This is maybe my 5th batch total. Thanks for the advice. I assume you just crush, let sit for 12 hours and shake and pour. When i have used the tabs it always said dont cover. Should i place the airlock back on after adding?

Oh, my no- don't crush, shake and pour.

If you've got some issues with sulfur, that could be due to stressed yeast. I'd crush and dissolve the campden tablets (one per gallon) in 1/4 water, and then put that in a new carboy and splash rack the cider into that.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

Splash racking *might* reduce the H2S into ethyl mercaptans, which can make it permanently stinky. Definitely sulfite, and I would recommend giving a rough racking (tube above the level of the wine, but not alot) with a clean piece of 3/8 copper tubing attached you your racking hose, maybe give it a good stir with the copper tube also. Check out information for fining with copper sulfate, it's INCREDIBLY POISONOUS in liquid form, and must be used with care but, with having a copper tube in-line some copper ions will help clear it up and be in such minimal concentrations that you won't have to worry about hurting yourself. A subsequent racking a couple of weeks after doing so is highly recommended before bottling. Best of luck.

 

[billmiller007]

I will try all this my next day off. If copper is so good why don't they make racking canes out of them to ensure that this is a step in all wine making? I am not sure how the yeast is stressed..... I used cote de blanc. Had plenty of nutrients. And had it in my fermentor at a steady 70 degrees F. I seemed to remember my cider last year had the same thing. Sewer sulphur smell. I clean with pbw and sanitize with star san.

 

[Yooper]

I will try all this my next day off. If copper is so good why don't they make racking canes out of them to ensure that this is a step in all wine making? I am not sure how the yeast is stressed..... I used cote de blanc. Had plenty of nutrients. And had it in my fermentor at a steady 70 degrees F. I seemed to remember my cider last year had the same thing. Sewer sulphur smell. I clean with pbw and sanitize with star san.

Because copper isn't "so good". It can be poisonous in large amounts, and that is why once alcohol is a part of the wine (or beer or cider), copper vessels are never used for serving or storing.

H2S isn't a common problem, luckily, if a winemaker takes good care of their yeast and racks and sulfites appropriately. Using copper now would be an emergency fix, to save the wine from being thrown out, and not a typical way to rack or even use in winemaking.

I've been making wine for more than 25 years, and never once had my wine touch copper.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

Because copper isn't "so good". It can be poisonous in large amounts, and that is why once alcohol is a part of the wine (or beer or cider), copper vessels are never used for serving or storing.

H2S isn't a common problem, luckily, if a winemaker takes good care of their yeast and racks and sulfites appropriately. Using copper now would be an emergency fix, to save the wine from being thrown out, and not a typical way to rack or even use in winemaking.

I've been making wine for more than 25 years, and never once had my wine touch copper.

Correct! Was going to go on a rant, but I'll reserve myself. Splash racking should be fine, and if the moderators have a problem with sound scientific advice they can PM for the details. Not gonna fly around here too often anymore. Just know my advice is sound, works to a degree, and as long as you're not playing with copper sulfate you'll be fine.

-BREW THE **** ON

 

[Yooper]

Correct! Was going to go on a rant, but I'll reserve myself. Splash racking should be fine, and if the moderators have a problem with sound scientific advice they can PM for the details. Not gonna fly around here too often anymore. Just know my advice is sound, works to a degree, and as long as you're not playing with copper sulfate you'll be fine.

-BREW THE **** ON

Oh, no- I'm not negating the advice at all!

The OP's question was specific: If copper is so good why don't they make racking canes out of them to ensure that this is a step in all wine making?

And that was my reply. It's not that copper is never a good idea- but this wine has been degassed(?) and now it's got H2S, and it's only two months old, from what I can tell. Copper may very well be the only fix here.

But.......it doesn't mean that a copper racking cane is the answer. It means that proper winemaking techniques, including the proper use of secondarys, racking, and sulfites, as well as proper yeast nutrients, usually negate the need for such extraneous measures in the winemaker's next batch.

 

[billmiller007]

No worries about being negative. I posted to ask. I degassed thinking that would solve some of the issues. I am very new to wine and did not see anything for sulphates and sparkling wine so i figured i would not add. No worries. I have beer down pat. Just expanding the love for the drink. I really like sparkling and champagne so i figured it was simple but need to read more. Thanks for the advice. I will sulphate, splash rack and run through copper to fix. I am excited to see how this comes out