I need some help from the wine masters!

I'm making a Merlot from a kit, one of the higher end ones. Today I racked
it after about a month in the secondary. My intent is to let it bulk age
for 4-6 months (until I can't stand it any longer).

Well I couldn't resist a taste. Kind of thin with a mild vinegar after
taste. I'm just wondering if this is normal of if I've messed up and need
some corrective action.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

"Dave" > wrote in message
...
> I need some help from the wine masters!
>
> I'm making a Merlot from a kit, one of the higher end ones. Today I
racked
> it after about a month in the secondary. My intent is to let it bulk age
> for 4-6 months (until I can't stand it any longer).
>
> Well I couldn't resist a taste. Kind of thin with a mild vinegar after
> taste. I'm just wondering if this is normal of if I've messed up and need
> some corrective action.
>
> Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
>
>

I read something about this on Jack Keller's site. He mentions that if
caught early enough then it might be possible to save the batch from turning
into vinegar. He mentions adding Campden tablets (he gives the amount),
waiting 24 hours and then restarting the fermentation with a fresh and
vigorous yeast.

Hopefully someone hear can answer a couple of questions.

There is no detectable vinegar odor from the wine. Just the after taste.
Does this sound like something I need to fix and does the above solution
sound like a reasonable course of action?

Any advice concerning the yeast to use? A few alternatives would be
helpful, since local access to supplies is limited and it sounds like I
shouldn't wait for mail orders.

The wine is currently sitting in a carboy, topped up quite nicely. The SG
is .994. Will I run into a problem if I restart the fermentation in the
same carboy? I would think so, but I wouldn't mind hearing a confirmation
on that.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

"Dave" > wrote in message
...
> There is no detectable vinegar odor from the wine. Just the after taste.

Doesn't sound like a vinegar problem to me. If you have vinegar, it'll
_smell_ like vinegar. Why do you suspect that it's gone to vinegar? Could
it be that you're not acquainted with the flavor of very young wine?

> The wine is currently sitting in a carboy, topped up quite nicely. The SG
> is .994. Will I run into a problem if I restart the fermentation in the
> same carboy?

Absolutely! You will _never_ get a primary fermentation to restart if the
SG is 0.994. The wine is already dry, so there's no sugar left to ferment.

Tom S