Rhubarb wine colour, smell and muslin

[redser]

Sorry for the dumb questions but it's my first time round making wine.
I just strained the pulp off from the primary fermenter and racked the juice into a demijohn for secondary fermenting. The colour is yellowy, is that right? Any photos I see it is pinky. The stalks weren't the red type, mostly green. It smelt very sweet and acid (if that's possible), is that normal too? I left the fruit in muslin for 10 days before straining it. Do you reckon I left it too long?
And finally ... what do you do with muslin cloth after straining? Just bung it in the washing machine and then sterilise it before using it again?
Appreciate it, lots of silly questions coming up first time round. Cheers

[Samurailord]

The colour is yellowy, is that right? Any photos I see it is pinky.

My rhubarb wine was yellow this year too, and my stalks were quite green

It smelt very sweet and acid (if that's possible), is that normal too?

It will smell sweet, that is the natural sugars in the rhubarb starting to come out.

I left the fruit in muslin for 10 days before straining it. Do you reckon I left it too long?

I put mine in a bucket with loads of sugar and forgot about it for about a week. Did you add sugar to yours?

And finally ... what do you do with muslin cloth after straining? Just bung it in the washing machine and then sterilise it before using it again?

Absolutely correct! Just wash the cloth and steralise it before you use it again

Andy

[redser]

Cheers Andy, that's all reassuring. So what colour did your wine end up? And yes, everything was in the mix for about 9 days before I strained it tonight.
Thanks

[Hazel at the Hill]

Your wine sounds pretty spot on, Redser.

I tend to make two batches of rhubarb wine a year, one from the young pink stems in April, and then with the more mature greener thicker stems in about end May/early June.

The first batch is a lovely rose in colour, and doesn't need as much sugar; the second batch much paler, yellowy in the dj then clearing to almost transparent, and is a bit sharp unless I remember to put in more sugar at the start.

Rhubarb wine is brill in that it is about the quickest to clear of all the wines I make (about 4wks start to bottle), it can be drunk more or less straight away,but it really pays to sit on your hands and let it live in the bottles for a year when it will be much less 'raw'/sharp.

[redser]

Thanks a million Hazel! The recipe I followed was 3 lbs sugar and 3 lbs fruit. I believe that should be sweet enough from reading around. I also froze it first so hopefully that helped break it down. Am hoping to leave it till Christmas and make a few presents of it, maybe leave one out with a carrot for the big man on christmas eve

[zazen999]

Thanks a million Hazel! The recipe I followed was 3 lbs sugar and 3 lbs fruit. I believe that should be sweet enough from reading around. I also froze it first so hopefully that helped break it down. Am hoping to leave it till Christmas and make a few presents of it, maybe leave one out with a carrot for the big man on christmas eve

When it ferments all that sugar is converted to alcohol. Once it no longer is sweet at all, then it has fully fermented and is done. It's then called 'dry'. if you want it sweeter then it's at that point you add back some sugar.

[redser]

Thanks zazen. Will try sneak sips as the time goes by and learn.

[zazen999]

You haven't tasted it yet?

We taste ours each time we strain or rack it...or do anything with it.

[redser]

Well the smell was over-powering enough (hope it didnt get tainted) But should have done ...

[Samurailord]

Cheers Andy, that's all reassuring. So what colour did your wine end up? And yes, everything was in the mix for about 9 days before I strained it tonight.
Thanks

It's actually still in the demi-john, but it is a pale yellow colour.

I will try to get a picture tonight/tomorrow when I bottle it up.

Andy

[Samurailord]

if you want it sweeter then it's at that point you add back some sugar.

If you have used a crushed campden tablet or some sodium metabisulphite in your final racking you will be Ok adding sugar as all the yeast will have been killed off, but of you haven't I would go for artificial sweetener at this point otherwise the yeast which will have become dormant through lack of food will awaken and start producing CO2 again.

This is what is called either secondary fermentation or bottle conditioning. If you want a fizzy wine that is OK, but be aware that too much CO2 on a sealed container can be dangerous and lead to bottle bombs.

Bottle conditioning will also leave a small amount of sediment at the bottom of your bottle, so it is often best to pour the wine out into a jug before serving (unless you like cloudy wine!)

Andy

[redser]

Thanks Andy. I intend to rack it one more time after this stage. I didn't add a tablet this time. So I'll have a taste and see once the airlock stops bubbling. So these bottle bombs, they only happen if you add more sugar later? Or is it a danger now? I thought with the airlock any gasses would just dissipate out into the room.
Is there anyway to know if the sugar ran out or if the yeast ran out?
Appreciate it

[zazen999]

Thanks Andy. I intend to rack it one more time after this stage. I didn't add a tablet this time. So I'll have a taste and see once the airlock stops bubbling. So these bottle bombs, they only happen if you add more sugar later? Or is it a danger now? I thought with the airlock any gasses would just dissipate out into the room.
Is there anyway to know if the sugar ran out or if the yeast ran out?
Appreciate it

You add a campden tablet at the end once it has finished fermenting [I assumed you knew this] - if you want to sweeten and bottle it. Have you got a hydrometer? That will tell you when the sugar has gone. It can still have not finished fermenting long after the airlock looks like it isn't bubbling.

Have a taste and you should be able to tell whether it is sweet still or dry.

[redser]

Thanks zazen. Yes I have a hydrometer. Lots to learn

[Samurailord]

Use your hydrometer and get a reading at the same time of day - take a reading every two or three days - when you have three readings in a row the same you can safely assume that the wine has stopped fermenting. Ideally the reading should be below 1.000.

At this point you need to rack it off and add a crushed campden tablet per gallon and mix it well.

Leave it to settle and then you can bottle it.

Bottle bombs can happen even without additional sugar (but it is very unlikely) as the act of syphoning mixed up the wine so dormant yeast could come in contact with residual sugar and start off again.

Andy