New to Wine making, the first batch does not taste good.

sscha12

I have just completed the first batch of white wine and the wife says it tastes quite vinagary, i am not sure as i don't drink white wine. I followed the instructions to the letter but i am lost for words as it was for christmas. Is there any way i can rescue the wine???. Help!!!!!!!.

HBO_Staff

Wine tasting unusual could be for a couple of reasons, one can be saved and one can't. Sometimes a wine can taste nothing like you'd expect but this can be because it is still not ready and needs to be left in the bottles to condition for longer. This is when the wine will develop it's proper flavours and become ready to drink. If however it is a strong vinegary taste, this may be a sign that it has unfortunately become contaminated, whilst everything may have been thoroughly cleaned with a steriliser such as VWP, sometimes wines (and beers) can be contaminated and this will unfortunately ruin the brew. Thoroughly sterilising absolutely everything that comes into contact with the brew is the best way to minimise this risk, but airborne contamination can still occur, so brewing somewhere out of the way where it will not be disturbed is also a good idea. If re-using old wine bottles these must also be sterilised to be on the safe side. It may be worth giving the wine a few more weeks somewhere cool and in the dark, or away from direct sunlight, and try it again and see how it is

Gerry

To SSCHA,

                 If the wine has been in contact with a fruit fly it is a throw away job. I would bottle it and put it in a dark cool place for one year. Then try it. I have brewed wines and after one year they were not as good as I had hoped  but on leaving them another six months they were quite good.