Waited too long???

[jterr]

Hey,
Need help /suggestions... I forgot about a gal of Honey mead I put up back in 10/2016. Just checked my grape wine and saw it pushed in back. It hasn't been racked, the bubbler on top was dry.
I tasted it: very dry, could taste honey. Had a alcohol smell?????
What should I do dump it start over , rack it ????

This is my 1st attempt at wine and mead making, the wine was so powerful I think I could use it for lighter fluid- tossed it as I have a new crop of grapes so will just start over.

Any help suggestions appreaciated

 

[mredge73]

OG and FG will help to determine how much alcohol it had in it.
When you say not racked what does that mean? I hope you got it off of the yeast cake.
If on yeast you will have some off flavors from yeast autolysis that may or may not go away.
If it is still on yeast, rack it now to a clean/sanitized secondary. Taste it, if drinkable but just hot let it sit another 6 months to 1 year.
Depending on how strong it is will determine how long it will need to age before the "hotness" goes away.
Mead generally takes longer to mature than wine unless you treated your yeast right with a strict nutrient program during primary fermentation.


Advice for the next wine crop:

Try to make a lighter wine next, as in aim for an OG of 1.07 - 1.09. This should produce a very drinkable wine that doesn't have to cellar for years.
A refractometer is a good tool for a wine maker who works from fruit. You can squeeze a little juice from a grape on the lens and see how much sugar is in it (should be 1.09+). Use this number with one of many online calculators to see how many lbs of grapes per gallon you need to harvest for a 1.08 OG batch (~15-20lbs per gallon). You shouldn't need any sugar if you have plenty of grapes.

Once you get your OG right, get you PH right. I am not the best at this, someone else will probably chime in and help here.

Next get your fermentation conditions right; ferment at the low end of the yeast temperature range. Use the right amount of yeast, there are online calculators for this as well.

Rack off the yeast cake in 2-3 weeks, keep in secondary for 6 months. Check and bottle if ready.

Here is a pretty good article on making a 1 gallon batch:
https://winemakermag.com/your-first-wine-from-fresh-grapes

 

[jterr]

It has been in same bottle and spot in closet since 10/2016

 

[Yooper]

It has been in same bottle and spot in closet since 10/2016

The airlock drying out isn't a good sign, but if it's not infected then it's fine. Mead doesn't oxidize quite as easily as wine. I'd likely use some sulfite (1 crushed campden tablet per gallon, dissolved in about 1/4 cup water) and put that in a new carboy and rack the mead into it. Let it sit to ensure that nothing 'grows' on it, at least for a few days, and then you can decide what you want to do. Stabilize and sweeten? Let it sit longer? Bottle it dry? Etc- you have several options.

 

[jterr]

Stabilize and sweeten? Let it sit longer? Bottle it dry? Etc- you have several options.

Thanks will try that asap. If it is ok how do you go about sweetning as I can't handle dry wines and stuff.

 

[mredge73]

Thanks will try that asap. If it is ok how do you go about sweetning as I can't handle dry wines and stuff.

3 days before you bottle, cold crash it in the refrigerator.
Carefully rack off of remaining yeast and stabilize with sorbate and sulfite.
Wait a day for the chemicals to do their thing.
Then add sugar to taste and bottle.

*cold crash isn't necessary but helps clear the yeast*

 

[Yooper]

3 days before you bottle, cold crash it in the refrigerator.
Carefully rack off of remaining yeast and stabilize with sorbate and sulfite.
Wait a day for the chemicals to do their thing.
Then add sugar to taste and bottle.

*cold crash isn't necessary but helps clear the yeast*

You won't have to cold crash, though. Not if it's been sitting for nearly a year. It's a step not worth the oxidation risk.

Rack to the new carboy with 1 crushed campden tablet per gallon along with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate per gallon, dissolved together in a little water poured in the bottom first. Wait a few days to make sure it remains clear, then sweeten to taste. Let it sit a few days to ensure fermentation won't restart, and then bottle.

 

[rlmiller10]

For the back sweetening I would use honey, not sugar, to give it more honey flavor. I would also check the gravity. Mead is notorious for stuck fermentation, so it might not really be dry. If it has a 1.020 gravity then no need to sweeten unless you want even more.

As a general rule, unless something is really fowl (which has never happened) I don't dump. Bottle and wait. You never know what time will do. I had a sort of Joe's ancient orange mead (sort of because I tried D-47 yeast) that had a lovely jet fuel mixed with finger nail polish remover flavor to it at 4 months. At three years, it is still a little hot, but drink able. Looking forward to trying some at 6 years.