next step on a kit wine that isn't working?

[maenad]

Following the instructions, I did the following. What do I do now?

1. Made up the kit, let it ferment, checked SG twice and it was .997 or .998, added potassium sorbate (or something - it was for stopping fermentation), then tasted the wine. It tasted like your standard new-and-not-clear-but-otherwise-ok white wine.
2. Left it for about two weeks before adding the provided kieselsol and chitosan, with a 2-day break between them. Neither of them worked at all.
3. De-gassed the wine for about 10 minutes with a home-made whip which may have gotten too much oxygen into the brew - although it's worked well before.
4. Cold-crashed it on the balcony wrapped in a towel, in temperatures of usually 5-8 degrees but sometimes down to zero or up to fifteen.
5. Tasted the wine. It's been about 6 weeks since I started it and it is:
- gassy
- quite vinegar-y, but not "off" - it still tastes more like awful wine than like vinegar.
- not clear at all.

It's worth noting that this shop - the only one in my country - has sold me two wine kits so far. The first worked beautifully. The second one, the wine didn't clear at all and I ended up with masses of sediment in the bottles. Is it possible for these chemicals to go off?

Do I give up? Hide it in the back of the wardrobe for a year?

Thank you!

 

[marc1]

Following the instructions, I did the following. What do I do now?

1. Made up the kit, let it ferment, checked SG twice and it was .997 or .998, added potassium sorbate (or something - it was for stopping fermentation), then tasted the wine. It tasted like your standard new-and-not-clear-but-otherwise-ok white wine.
2. Left it for about two weeks before adding the provided kieselsol and chitosan, with a 2-day break between them. Neither of them worked at all.
3. De-gassed the wine for about 10 minutes with a home-made whip which may have gotten too much oxygen into the brew - although it's worked well before.
4. Cold-crashed it on the balcony wrapped in a towel, in temperatures of usually 5-8 degrees but sometimes down to zero or up to fifteen.
5. Tasted the wine. It's been about 6 weeks since I started it and it is:
- gassy
- quite vinegar-y, but not "off" - it still tastes more like awful wine than like vinegar.
- not clear at all.

It's worth noting that this shop - the only one in my country - has sold me two wine kits so far. The first worked beautifully. The second one, the wine didn't clear at all and I ended up with masses of sediment in the bottles. Is it possible for these chemicals to go off?

Do I give up? Hide it in the back of the wardrobe for a year?

Thank you!

Sorbate prevents yeast replication, which will prevent refermentation; it may not stop fermentation that is still going.

Did you rack off the yeast cake before adding the sorbate?

Also, sorbate does go bad somewhat quickly. IIRC it's got about a 6 month shelf life or so?

Sulfates are also used in winemaking. They kill off unwanted microorganisms and help prevent oxidation.

Not sure which of these you used (or both?).


If it's less than 3 weeks from FG and it's still not clear, I'd let it sit longer in bulk storage to clear before bottling.