Hello, this is Kimmy in desperate need of some advise. I started pumpkin wine about 14? days ago. I started it with fresh pumpkin, and followed a recipe that called for yeast, yeast nutrient, and yeast energizer. I started wit yeast, and yeast nutrient because I had those on hand, and thought perhaps I wouldn't need the energizer. Well, about 3 days into it, the wine wasn't doing much, so added some energizer. About 4-5 days later, I thought I had better remove the fruit, and when I took the bag out there was a very foul odor. (more than the yeast odor, and not like rotten eggs) the fruit on the bottom of the bag was very slimey, but not discolored. It has a very foul dark odor. I don't know how else to describe it. I am wondering if I should worry that there will be an offtaste or if there is anything else I should look out for or do. Any advise is so very welcome, and thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this ost. Fondly, Kim s.

First, welcome to the forum. Glad to have you on board.

Although I have never made a pumpkin wine, I have made wine from vegetables. One of the problems is haze in the wine if you cook the vegetables and the other is low acid which allows the must to spoil quickly. You need pectic enzyme to break down the sugar in the pumpkin and you will need acid in the must to prevent spoilage. Pouring boiling water over the pumpkin limits the cooking time. The other items like campden, nutrient, energizer are common to most wines.
If you can post your recipe possibly I can help you find out what went wrong.
Below is a web site where they have a good pumpkin wine recipe. Scroll down to the one on pumpkin wine.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp

I am doing a pumpkin wine now from fresh pumpkin. I put the meat in a muslin bag, and it worked real well. I also added a touch of cinnamon and cloves. I will back sweeten when finished.(Maybe)