Wine is bland

[Quyzi]

I just transferred my batch of mead using NB Artisanal Standard Semi-Sweet Mead Kit from Northern Brewer to secondary and took a small sample and it is very bland. Very watery, kinda sweet and a bit dry. Too bland. I've been reading about backsweetening and found that there are things you can add to stop it from refermenting. Could I add the potassium metabisulfate and potassium sorbate to the mead and then backsweeten with something like mango juice? I actually have three batches of 5 gallons each of this stuff. I'd like it to be tasty, but right now it's just meh.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

How old is it? Mead tends to get a little bit of body back around the 9-12 month range.

To answer the actual question; If the mead is finished fermenting, yes, adding those two will prevent any further fermentation. Add them in, wait about 48 hours, and add as much juice as you want.

 

[Quyzi]

It's about 2 months old. I'd love to wait it out and let this age properly but I don't really have the time to do that. I've already transferred it from the fermenter to a secondary and added a bit of gelatin to help clarify it.

 

[ColeVet67]

"patience my son." LOL Mead is SLOW SLOW SLOW.. i have 5 gal of blackberry/blueberry melomel been bulk conditioning for well over 6 months. Maybe, just maybe.. ill bottle it up this fall.

 

[Quyzi]

"patience my son." LOL Mead is SLOW SLOW SLOW.. i have 5 gal of blackberry/blueberry melomel been bulk conditioning for well over 6 months. Maybe, just maybe.. ill bottle it up this fall.

Unfortunately I don't have time to wait for it. A good friend asked me to make it for his wedding, which is in August. He proposed on Easter; it's a very fast wedding.

 

[Yooper]

Yes, you can do that.

Another thought for bland, boring mead- adding a bit of acid blend for some acidity. You can take out a tiny sample, and see if a squeeze (tiny amount) of lemon helps. If it does, then you can buy some acid blend which is a blend of tartaric, citric, and malic acid. Sometimes a boring mead or wine just needs a bit of "bite" to it, and not sweetening. Of course, for those who like sweeter wines and meads, sweetening is the ticket- so simply trying it with a bit of acid may convince you do do it "my" way!

 

[bernardsmith]

I agree with Yooper. Often bland simply means that there is not enough balance between the residual sweetness and the acidity of the wine. You might also consider adding some oak and indeed some tannin. What was your starting gravity and what is the final gravity?

 

[Quyzi]

The OG of each was around 1.083, FG was around 0.99ish. I was going to get some lemon juice on my way home from work and try it in a small sample to see how it tastes.