On Jan 3, 12:19*pm, "Lum" > wrote:
> > 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

Hi Lum!
I just referenced your book on another thread.

Marc,
I had some off smells start up on a white and did as Lum suggests and
it made a world of difference. If it gets dark it may end up a sherry
but I like sherry...

Joe

Joe