I made a big mistake this summer and I wonder if those of you with more
experience can advise me. I had 20 lbs of blueberries in the freezer
for about 6 mos. This spring I thawed them and started a new batch of
blueberry wine. It fermented to dry, cleared very well and I then
sweetened it (boiled sugar water) to semi-dry. Problem is, I failed to
stabilize. After bottling and sitting on the rack for the past 6 mos,
I noticed a dark blue sap bleeding through the corks of about half of
the bottles. I opened one of the bleeders tonight and sure enough,
it's somewhat carbonated and has obviously begun to re-ferment. My
question is, should I dump this batch or can I open the bottles, pour
them back into a carboy and let the yeast run its course, then sorbate,
sweeten and re-bottle?
Thank you in advance for you anticipated responses, you are all a very
helpful (and patient) group of people.

Paul

"Bob" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I made a big mistake this summer and I wonder if those of you with more
experience can advise me. I had 20 lbs of blueberries in the freezer
for about 6 mos. This spring I thawed them and started a new batch of
blueberry wine. It fermented to dry, cleared very well and I then
sweetened it (boiled sugar water) to semi-dry. Problem is, I failed to
stabilize. After bottling and sitting on the rack for the past 6 mos,
I noticed a dark blue sap bleeding through the corks of about half of
the bottles. I opened one of the bleeders tonight and sure enough,
it's somewhat carbonated and has obviously begun to re-ferment. My
question is, should I dump this batch or can I open the bottles, pour
them back into a carboy and let the yeast run its course, then sorbate,
sweeten and re-bottle?
Thank you in advance for you anticipated responses, you are all a very
helpful (and patient) group of people.

I have had this problem with blueberries also. Open each bottle, add
sorbate and then shake it gently with a plastic stopper on it, then remove
the stopper. This kills the yeast and degasses it to boot. Let it sit for
a
few days with the plastic stopper back on, then recork. It worked like a
gem
for me.


Paul




This would be a good approach if the yeast was not already active. But
sorbate does not kill yeast, it prevents it from reproducing. If it is
already fermenting, this may not work well. Even if it did work, you will
probably end up with sediment in the bottle from the yeast. Cloudy wine is
not very appetizing.

If you let the fermentation run it's course, you may end up with a wine that
is too hot.

Depending on how much you have, you might put the bottles in the
refrigerator for a week. This should force the yeast back into hibernation.
It would also make them a lot safer to open by dropping the pressure. Then
open the bottles, gently pour them back into a carboy and treat with sorbate
and sulfite. Give them a week under an airlock to be sure they do not start
up again and to allow the yeast to settle. Then you could safely rebottle.

Ray

"Bob" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I made a big mistake this summer and I wonder if those of you with more
experience can advise me. I had 20 lbs of blueberries in the freezer
for about 6 mos. This spring I thawed them and started a new batch of
blueberry wine. It fermented to dry, cleared very well and I then
sweetened it (boiled sugar water) to semi-dry. Problem is, I failed to
stabilize. After bottling and sitting on the rack for the past 6 mos,
I noticed a dark blue sap bleeding through the corks of about half of
the bottles. I opened one of the bleeders tonight and sure enough,
it's somewhat carbonated and has obviously begun to re-ferment. My
question is, should I dump this batch or can I open the bottles, pour
them back into a carboy and let the yeast run its course, then sorbate,
sweeten and re-bottle?
Thank you in advance for you anticipated responses, you are all a very
helpful (and patient) group of people.

I have had this problem with blueberries also. Open each bottle, add
sorbate and then shake it gently with a plastic stopper on it, then remove
the stopper. This kills the yeast and degasses it to boot. Let it sit for
a
few days with the plastic stopper back on, then recork. It worked like a
gem
for me.


Paul




This would be a good approach if the yeast was not already active. But
sorbate does not kill yeast, it prevents it from reproducing. If it is
already fermenting, this may not work well. Even if it did work, you will
probably end up with sediment in the bottle from the yeast. Cloudy wine is
not very appetizing.

If you let the fermentation run it's course, you may end up with a wine that
is too hot.

Depending on how much you have, you might put the bottles in the
refrigerator for a week. This should force the yeast back into hibernation.
It would also make them a lot safer to open by dropping the pressure. Then
open the bottles, gently pour them back into a carboy and treat with sorbate
and sulfite. Give them a week under an airlock to be sure they do not start
up again and to allow the yeast to settle. Then you could safely rebottle.

Ray

"Ray Calvert" wrote in message
. com...

"Bob" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I made a big mistake this summer and I wonder if those of you with more
experience can advise me. I had 20 lbs of blueberries in the freezer
for about 6 mos. This spring I thawed them and started a new batch of
blueberry wine. It fermented to dry, cleared very well and I then
sweetened it (boiled sugar water) to semi-dry. Problem is, I failed to
stabilize. After bottling and sitting on the rack for the past 6 mos,
I noticed a dark blue sap bleeding through the corks of about half of
the bottles. I opened one of the bleeders tonight and sure enough,
it's somewhat carbonated and has obviously begun to re-ferment. My
question is, should I dump this batch or can I open the bottles, pour
them back into a carboy and let the yeast run its course, then sorbate,
sweeten and re-bottle?
Thank you in advance for you anticipated responses, you are all a very
helpful (and patient) group of people.

I have had this problem with blueberries also. Open each bottle, add
sorbate and then shake it gently with a plastic stopper on it, then
remove
the stopper. This kills the yeast and degasses it to boot. Let it sit
for
a
few days with the plastic stopper back on, then recork. It worked like a
gem
for me.


Paul




This would be a good approach if the yeast was not already active. But
sorbate does not kill yeast, it prevents it from reproducing. If it is
already fermenting, this may not work well. Even if it did work, you will
probably end up with sediment in the bottle from the yeast. Cloudy wine
is
not very appetizing.

If you let the fermentation run it's course, you may end up with a wine
that
is too hot.

Depending on how much you have, you might put the bottles in the
refrigerator for a week. This should force the yeast back into
hibernation.
It would also make them a lot safer to open by dropping the pressure.
Then
open the bottles, gently pour them back into a carboy and treat with
sorbate
and sulfite. Give them a week under an airlock to be sure they do not
start
up again and to allow the yeast to settle. Then you could safely
rebottle.

Thanks for the correction, Ray.
Bob


Ray