Apple wine - needs more acid

[crabjoe]

I'm trying to finish up my 2nd go at Apple wine. The 1st time, it was just apple juice and sugar to get the abv. But because it ended up being too light for my liking, I decided to give it another try.

My 2nd batch, I added 2 bananas per gallon of apple juice. I also sliced up 6 granny smith apples in the hopes that I might get a bit more tartness from it.. Well, I racked it tonight and took a taste.. I can't tell if it's got more body or not, but I could tell that it needs some acid to get the tartness I like.

So my question is.. should I add acid blend, lemon juice or what? Or is it too late to try and make it a bit more tart?

Thanks!

 

[Jal5]

I am watching this one. similar issue with a pear wine from last year. I decided to let it bulk age for several more months then will add some acid blend for tartness. Probably more aging afterwards. Aiming to bottle that sometime next summer. Nice color very light on pear taste though. My next trial will be a pear-apple wine. Joe

 

[Rice_Guy]

* it is best to adjust early to the target pH and at bottling to tweak the flavor. When I bottle I resample over a day since my impression of best changes with what I just was eating.
* acid blend will let you push the TA to where it is to your likings. Malic is sharper, found in apples, a good choice. With acid you will get 100% TA so it is easy to guess what you need for your flavor goal. Citric is also 100%.
Real Lemon is bottled at about 5.5% TA, I have seen fresh squeezed up at 7% but in the scheme of things this is weak.
* one I like is cranberry concentrate, it provides longer lasting bitter notes, fresh or diluted to 100% should have a TA of about 3%, my latest jump in this flavor mix is to add bitter from crab apple in.

 

[salcoco]

wait until wine clears then do bench trials using malic acid only. malic is prime acid in apples.

 

[crabjoe]

Thanks folks! I've got acid blend and citric at home. Guess I'll need to order some malic.