wrote in message
...
We made a mistake and now we are paying. Our port, which is about 20%
alcohol was left in a 5 gallon barrel without topping up for about 6
weeks- oops. And given the alcohol content, we had skipped adding SO2
other than initially to the primary. (of course the wine we are making
didn't receive much SO2 either and it is testing above 50ppm
regardless. Anyhow, we tasted it last night with the intent to top off
and what we found was a musty port. We topped up and added 1 camden
tablet per gallon (5), but have deep concerns. What to do? To give
you a sense of the level of mustiness, it wasn't readily appearant to
taste until I smelled it. Then I could taste it. It doesn't
necessarily blow you away or anything (provided you pinch your nose
before drinking it .
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Tawny Port is made by aging Port (low in SO2) in partially filled barrels
for years. So, the musty character in your wine probably came from the
barrel (small barrels are known to be difficult to store).

I would get the wine out of that barrel. Then rack the wine with lots of
splashing several times and try to blow off as much musty character as
possible. With all that aeration, you may end up with a tawny Port but you
may be able to save the wine.

Good luck.

Lum