Re: Bitter white Zinfandel

Give it time. That should mellow out. Meantime, start another batch.

Tom S

Bitterness in wines is usually caused by phenolic materials, but compaired to red wines, most blush wines and white wines contain relatively little phenolic materials. All wines become less bitter and astringent as they age, so perhaps your Zin will show some improvement in a few more months. Good luck, lum

Sounds odd to be really bitter, how did you make it and what color is it? It there any brown? Be specific as to how much of whatever you used.

I would say none of my blush wines ever tasted bitter at any point. They do change quite a bit in the bottle. They are not really meant to last for years so really bitter could be an issue. Everything is relative though, what is really bitter to one person might not be so bitter to another... Regards, Joe

I also find unoaked dry white wines have a touch of bitterness. I wonder if slightly sweeting would mask this?

Joe

The color is really good, no brown whatsoever. It came from fresh juices and I added yeast nutrient in the beginning and and added sulfites at racking in October. Also added pectic enzyme when starting fermentation. Started the batch in late August.

Michael,

Where did the juice come from? Over zealous pressing could have cracked a lot of the seeds. That could explain the bitterness.

I made some Lychee wine this last year and bottled it last month. It is crystal clear, very little color of any type. It has a delightful, strong, floral bouquet and is very fruity and reminiscent of Gewürztraminer. But it too has an underlying bitterness. No seeds, stems, or skin were used. I too hope the bitterness goes away as it is the only fault.

Ray