I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?

Dear unknown:

Maybe.

What kit?
Did you follow the instructions with regard to minimum timing,
clearing agents, etc?
Did you rack off sediment prior to bottling?

I don't really care that your name is unknown, but it's hard to answer
queries when everything else is also unknown.

Steve


On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:50:22 -0400, Unknown >
wrote:

>I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
>said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
>that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?

It's young, it wil probably go away. There are not enough details on
what it is and how you made it to really answer the question. Wines
evolve, always; so just give it time.

Joe

Unknown wrote:
> I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
> said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
> that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?

Thanx for the reply Joe. Its a Vineco 4 week dry red wine kit and I
followed the instructions to the letter. I sterilized the equipment with
the potassium metabisulphite mixed with water in a spray bottle and I made
sure that everything was cleaned prior to use. The starting specific
gravity was 1.08 and in 8 days it came down to .095 and I left lots of
sediment behind when I put it in the carboy. At the degassing stage I got
lots of gas every time I stirred it up, less as much after the second
day but there still seemed to be some present. Stabilizing and
clarification seemed to work exactly as I've read it should. When it
came time to bottle the wine the specific gravity was .09 and stable
like it's suppose to be.

What I'm wondering is if kits are really drinkable (acceptable taste and
smell and I suppose that it different for each of us) once bottled? What
should it taste/smell like at bottling time? They say on the instructions
that it will improve over time, does it change a lot or can I expect a
similar taste/odor in six months from now?

To me (and I'm no expert) it tastes harsh at this point.

Thanx again

Mark

On Fri, 28 Apr
2006 03:33:17 -0700, Joe Sallustio wrote:

> It's young, it wil probably go away. There are not enough details on
> what it is and how you made it to really answer the question. Wines
> evolve, always; so just give it time.
>
> Joe
>
> Unknown wrote:
>> I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
>> said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
>> that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:13:15 +0000, Steve wrote:

> Dear unknown:
>
> Maybe.
>
> What kit?

Vineco 4 week dry red wine kit.

> Did you follow the instructions with regard to minimum timing,
> clearing agents, etc?

Followed the instructions to the letter.

> Did you rack off sediment prior to bottling?

Lots of sediment was left behind when the wine was done fermenting. There
was about 1/4 to 1/2 and inch of sediment if I remember correctly after
bottling was done. I don't recall fully but I believe it was a yellowy
sediment but for sure not like it was when it came out of the
primary fermenter.

>
> I don't really care that your name is unknown, but it's hard to answer
> queries when everything else is also unknown.

The starting specific gravity was 1.08 and then .095 when it went into the
carboy and .09 when it was bottled. Like I said everything went as it
should except for the degassing stage when it seemed every time I stirred
up the wine it gave off some gas (less as much at the end).

I suppose the question is what should it taste like at this stage? I
would say its drinkable as the kit states but taste/smell good, not
really. Its rather strong to my untrained nose.

As for the unknown, I remember setting this up a long time ago and I cant
find the window where you change that. The name is Mark and I do
appreciate your reply. Thanx Steve

Mark

>
> Steve
>
>
> On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:50:22 -0400, Unknown > wrote:
>
>>I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
>>said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
>>that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?

Mark,
I really don't understand why the kit manufacturer's don't explain that
a little better, 4 weeks is not a lot of time. Harsh is a good
description of young wines, especially reds. I would expect it will
improve substantially with time. In 3 months it will be better,
probably by 6 months much better.

Kit dry red wines my go downhill quicker that others made from juice or
grapes but it will probably be much better at a year. I can't say it
will last 3 years but red wine made from inexpensive juice such as
Regina get better by the year for around 3 years, after that they are
about as good as they get.

I'm helping some people start out here and a few nights ago we sampled
some young Merlot and one from last year. They liked the younger until
they tasted the older, they noticed the difference. It's the same wine
for the most part made the same way, just a year older. The younger
was not bad, just different.

Your process seems good, I would not worry. I don't make kit wines but
don't think you have an issue.

The hydrometer readings were probably misstated as a heads up. I think
you meant 0.995 and 0.990 when you were talking about the ending
values.

Joe

If a wine tastes yeasty, it is probably because it still has yeast in it.
It has not totally cleared even if you think it looks clear. It is really
not ready for bottling. Kits usually come out exactly like they say they
will.

Not coming down on you but it is standard procedure that SG is reported in 3
significant figure accuracy. your starting SG would be 1.080, not 1.08 and
when it falls below 1.000 you indicate it at 0.990 rather than .99 This
will cut down on confusion. Also, you cannot ferment down to 0.090. You
probably got it down to 0.990 which would be very dry and indicate the kit
went well.

The one aspect of your procedure I would question is the fining or the use
of the clearing agents. They should have clear the yeast out of the wine.
If it tastes yeasty, they did not. The instructions may have been a little
unclear or maybe you did something wrong without realizing it but kits
usually clear better than that. Maybe you stirred a little sediment up when
you racked it. It does not take much and racking is a technique that throws
many. Get a racking clip to help you here. It is a clip that goes on the
racking cane that clips to the side of the carboy to prevent movement of the
cane that can stir up sediment. Keep the cane off the bottom. I keep it
several inches above the bottom until the surface drops to near the tip,
then I carefully move it down to near the bottom. The clip will help with
this. It will cost about a dollar.

If you have not bottled yet, give it another month or two in bulk. Just
remember to keep it topped up correctly (the carboy must be filled to within
1 inch of the bung).

Not coming down on you as I know you are new to all this. Just commenting
on some pitfalls. Also remember that your wine is not intelligent enough to
know how to follow the kits description of what it is suppose to do so
things never come out exactly as they say.

Ray

"Unknown" > wrote in message
news
> On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:13:15 +0000, Steve wrote:
>
>> Dear unknown:
>>
>> Maybe.
>>
>> What kit?
>
> Vineco 4 week dry red wine kit.
>
>> Did you follow the instructions with regard to minimum timing,
>> clearing agents, etc?
>
> Followed the instructions to the letter.
>
>> Did you rack off sediment prior to bottling?
>
> Lots of sediment was left behind when the wine was done fermenting. There
> was about 1/4 to 1/2 and inch of sediment if I remember correctly after
> bottling was done. I don't recall fully but I believe it was a yellowy
> sediment but for sure not like it was when it came out of the
> primary fermenter.
>
>>
>> I don't really care that your name is unknown, but it's hard to answer
>> queries when everything else is also unknown.
>
> The starting specific gravity was 1.08 and then .095 when it went into the
> carboy and .09 when it was bottled. Like I said everything went as it
> should except for the degassing stage when it seemed every time I stirred
> up the wine it gave off some gas (less as much at the end).
>
> I suppose the question is what should it taste like at this stage? I
> would say its drinkable as the kit states but taste/smell good, not
> really. Its rather strong to my untrained nose.
>
> As for the unknown, I remember setting this up a long time ago and I cant
> find the window where you change that. The name is Mark and I do
> appreciate your reply. Thanx Steve
>
> Mark
>
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:50:22 -0400, Unknown > wrote:
>>
>>>I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
>>>said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
>>>that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?
>
>

Unknown wrote:
> I've made a wine from a kit. I have it bottled now and the instructions
> said that you could drink it right away but it tastes kind of yeasty. Is
> that a normal taste and should I wait for a few months?

I've had this happen to me with wine from a kit. I had thought I left
the wine on the trub for too long, and it picked up the yeasty flavor.
What I read now in homebrewing is this flavor is more apparant if you
rack too early, not too late. That's within reasonable bounds; racking
waaay too late off of primary is supposed to have off flavors too.

I'll reassure you that the flavor was gone in a little over a month
after bottling.

Mark:

Vineco recommends two months minimum in bottle for their 4-week red
wines. I suspect that you have NOT been tasting yeast but rather a
young wine. Personally I try to give all red wines (even 4-week ones)
at least 6 months from start to drinking.

I make Vineco 4-week kits in the Brew on Premise that I run. Which
specific kit? I may be able to give some better aging guidelines. EG
Ken Ridge Classic Merlot is ready to drink younger than Ken Ridge
Classic Vieux Chateau du Roi.

I'm not certain from your description but it sounds like you bottled
from a carboy containing sediment from the clearing agent. I much
prefer one last racking immediately before bottling. This can be into
a primary or carboy.

BTW...it sometimes helps us to answer your questions if your are
specific about the kit name & variety.

Steve

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:16:28 -0400, Unknown >
>Thanx for the reply Joe. Its a Vineco 4 week dry red wine kit and I
>
>What I'm wondering is if kits are really drinkable (acceptable taste and
>smell and I suppose that it different for each of us) once bottled? What
>should it taste/smell like at bottling time? They say on the instructions
>that it will improve over time, does it change a lot or can I expect a
>similar taste/odor in six months from now?
>
>To me (and I'm no expert) it tastes harsh at this point.
>
>Thanx again
>
>Mark

If you wish to drink it a little young I would recommend decanting it
(pouring it in to a pitcher and letting it sit for at least a half hour
before you drink it). That will greatly improve the flavor plus you
will separate the yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle from the
wine itself.