Post-postscript: When racking the blackberry wine recently, I diverted
some for tasting, and found it delightful but extremely acid. Titration
showed to be somewhere close to 0.65-0.70% acid. I added enough
potassium bicarbonate to neutralize 0.3% of it, so we'll see what I get
in a couple of months.

Marshall

Marshall Jose wrote:
> A postscript:
>
> I gave up on the blackberry wine for a couple of months, fully expecting
> to destroy it eventually. But I gave it a sniff recently and found no
> trace of the hydrogen sulfide odor present earlier.
>
> I do think the oxygenation helped, but I guess I was too impatient for
> results.
>
> Marshall
>
> Marshall Jose wrote:
>> Steve Peek wrote:
>>> "Marshall Jose" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> I picked and froze blackberries from a neighbor's plants, and when I
>>>> had enough (about 3kg) I prepared my must for the primary. After
>>>> crushing the fruit I added the usual things, including 1.5 tsp of
>>>> yeast nutrient in the form of food-grade urea. I also sulfited with
>>>> two Campden tablets primary must, which by this time was nearly 2
>>>> gallons. This sat for 24 hours.
>>>>
>>>> I then pitched the yeast, Lalvin RC212 (Bourgovin), per their
>>>> directions, which involved dissolving some of the yeast in warm
>>>> water and letting sit for 15 minutes before adding it to the must. I
>>>> noticed at the time that the yeast solution smelled a little
>>>> off-putting.
>>>>
>>>> Within 24 hours of pitching, my must acquired a thick bouquet of
>>>> hydrogen sulfide, and 5 days later it's still as bad.
>>>>
>>>> This happened last year when I made wine from the same plant's
>>>> berries., but then I'd used Red Star's Premier Cuvee. I eventually
>>>> drove out the H2S with agitation, but it made me wonder what went
>>>> wrong. This time I was very attentive to sanitation, and I'm rather
>>>> disappointed that the H2S presence has recurred with such vigor.
>>>>
>>>> After doing some internet searches, I get the impression diammonium
>>>> phosphate might have been a better nutrient. Does anybody have other
>>>> suggestions? There's still plenty of berries to pick this season,
>>>> and I might be able to re-try a batch this season.
>>>>
>>>> Marshall