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My wine smells fizzy. Is this bad?

Hello. I'm making my first batch of wine and one of my problems is that I don't know what new wine is supossed to smell or taste like. My batch was made with a Cabernet/Merlot blend of sterile must (Mosti Mondiale). Fermentation finished in October, then I cold stabilized it. The wine doesn't smell like rotten egg, but it has a very distinct and strong fizzy smell. Is this typical? I know that a lot of CO2 is produced during the fermentation, and I'm hoping that that is what I'm smelling. The taste is not really terrible or anything, but then again I've read that new wine doesn't taste or smell very good. I plan on bulk aging the wine for one year. Will the fizzy smell be gone by then? Is this fizzy smell a sign of some problem? Thanks.

Reply to
Igor
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That "fizzy" smell is dissolved carbon dioxide. It's normal in a young wine. You can degas it with a gadget called a "fizz-x" or simply sulfite and top up the wine in a carboy with an airlock and the CO2 will dissipate with time. A year of bulk aging would be good, but be sure that you don't allow anything to grow on the surface of the wine. Setting the sulfite to its appropriate level and minimizing the headspace over the wine will prevent oxidation and growth of spoilage organisms.

Tom S

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Reply to
Tom S

I never heard of it described as a smell but fizzy taste or pricking of the tongue is common. It is just dissolved CO2. If you want to bottle young you probably want to degas it by stirring vigorously. Some people like the fuzziness in which case you may want to bottle early to capture it. I do not like it.

If you are going to bulk age it for 9 mo. to a year the it will go away naturally and I would not recommend degassing.

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

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