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Can I save this blueberry wine?

I made a big mistake this summer and I wonder if those of you with more experience can advise me. I had 20 lbs of blueberries in the freezer for about 6 mos. This spring I thawed them and started a new batch of blueberry wine. It fermented to dry, cleared very well and I then sweetened it (boiled sugar water) to semi-dry. Problem is, I failed to stabilize. After bottling and sitting on the rack for the past 6 mos, I noticed a dark blue sap bleeding through the corks of about half of the bottles. I opened one of the bleeders tonight and sure enough, it's somewhat carbonated and has obviously begun to re-ferment. My question is, should I dump this batch or can I open the bottles, pour them back into a carboy and let the yeast run its course, then sorbate, sweeten and re-bottle? Thank you in advance for you anticipated responses, you are all a very helpful (and patient) group of people.

Paul

Reply to
pdndr
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I had a Blackberry wine that restarted fermentation in the bottle... I noticed it after a couple of blown corks... I dumped it all back into a secondary and let it ferment dry...

That wine took a blue ribbon in this year's state fair competition :-)

Go for it A.J.

Reply to
A. J. Rawls

I have had this problem with blueberries also. Open each bottle, add sorbate and then shake it gently with a plastic stopper on it, then remove the stopper. This kills the yeast and degasses it to boot. Let it sit for a few days with the plastic stopper back on, then recork. It worked like a gem for me.

Reply to
Bob

This would be a good approach if the yeast was not already active. But sorbate does not kill yeast, it prevents it from reproducing. If it is already fermenting, this may not work well. Even if it did work, you will probably end up with sediment in the bottle from the yeast. Cloudy wine is not very appetizing.

If you let the fermentation run it's course, you may end up with a wine that is too hot.

Depending on how much you have, you might put the bottles in the refrigerator for a week. This should force the yeast back into hibernation. It would also make them a lot safer to open by dropping the pressure. Then open the bottles, gently pour them back into a carboy and treat with sorbate and sulfite. Give them a week under an airlock to be sure they do not start up again and to allow the yeast to settle. Then you could safely rebottle.

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

hibernation.

Thanks for the correction, Ray. Bob

Reply to
Bob

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