Vinegar after taste

Nov 16, 2003 2 Replies

I need some help from the wine masters!



I'm making a Merlot from a kit, one of the higher end ones. Today I racked it after about a month in the secondary. My intent is to let it bulk age for 4-6 months (until I can't stand it any longer).



Well I couldn't resist a taste. Kind of thin with a mild vinegar after taste. I'm just wondering if this is normal of if I've messed up and need some corrective action.



Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.


I read something about this on Jack Keller's site. He mentions that if caught early enough then it might be possible to save the batch from turning into vinegar. He mentions adding Campden tablets (he gives the amount), waiting 24 hours and then restarting the fermentation with a fresh and vigorous yeast.

Hopefully someone hear can answer a couple of questions.

There is no detectable vinegar odor from the wine. Just the after taste. Does this sound like something I need to fix and does the above solution sound like a reasonable course of action?

Any advice concerning the yeast to use? A few alternatives would be helpful, since local access to supplies is limited and it sounds like I shouldn't wait for mail orders.

The wine is currently sitting in a carboy, topped up quite nicely. The SG is .994. Will I run into a problem if I restart the fermentation in the same carboy? I would think so, but I wouldn't mind hearing a confirmation on that.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Doesn't sound like a vinegar problem to me. If you have vinegar, it'll _smell_ like vinegar. Why do you suspect that it's gone to vinegar? Could it be that you're not acquainted with the flavor of very young wine?

Absolutely! You will _never_ get a primary fermentation to restart if the SG is 0.994. The wine is already dry, so there's no sugar left to ferment.

Tom S

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