BUMPSIES: Update and discussion on bitters/aperitif in comments
This particular little wine was supposed to have the fruits in it for ten days. I forgot all about it over Christmas stress so the fruit has been soaking for over a month. I racked it today and boy does it have an aftertaste of the zest. Do you think it can be recovered? Will the zesty bitterness reduce from aging? Or can I do something else about it?
I’ve no experience on wine, but I can tell you I’ve once messed up the amount of citrus peel extract (just some dry citrus peel macerated in whiskey) I added to a beer and it was mostly undrinkable. The citrus peel bitterness did not go out after about 2 months and it was quite unpleasant. Ended up dumping the rest of the bottles. That particular batch also finished quite high on gravity, and I blamed it on adding the extract in primary fermentation.
I’d be curious if you’re trying to age it, though, maybe something will happen after a longer while?
If all else fails, you could use it as cooking wine, I guess.
It’s a small batch, so maybe I’ll just save a couple of bottles and let them sit in some dark corner until I forget all about them and when I find them in some distant future it will be a surprise either way 🙃