Finer Wine Kit Finer Whites w/o Carbon

[winemaker81]

but certainly did notice an improvement to clarity

I agree with you there -- cold stabilization can make a difference in clearing a wine.

IF there does happen to be an acidity hit -- wouldn't an acid addition prior to bottling "fix" that?

Yup, you can add tartaric back.

Early in my career I made a lot of NY Finger Lakes French-American hybrids, which were all high in acid. I cold stabilized on my porch to reduce the acid, and it was generally effective. Clarification was a side bonus to the need to drop acid, but it never occurred to me to use cold stabilization simply for clarity.

Generally speaking, I'm cautious about messing much with acid. I've gotten into an add/remove yo-yo with acid a few times, and it never turned out well.

IME, kits from reputable vendors have good acid balance, so I don't mess with it. YMMV

 

[Bmd2k1]

I agree with you there -- cold stabilization can make a difference in clearing a wine.


Yup, you can add tartaric back.

Early in my career I made a lot of NY Finger Lakes French-American hybrids, which were all high in acid. I cold stabilized on my porch to reduce the acid, and it was generally effective. Clarification was a side bonus to the need to drop acid, but it never occurred to me to use cold stabilization simply for clarity.

Generally speaking, I'm cautious about messing much with acid. I've gotten into an add/remove yo-yo with acid a few times, and it never turned out well.

IME, kits from reputable vendors have good acid balance, so I don't mess with it. YMMV

I'm diving in! Will report back

 

[RylanJacobs]

Would this kit be appropriate to undergo MLF? I recognize it is not part of the instructions, but I am curious.
I'll be doing MLF with a Chardonnay from fresh juice, but am really curious about MLF with FWK.

 

[winemaker81]

Would this kit be appropriate to undergo MLF? I recognize it is not part of the instructions, but I am curious.
I'll be doing MLF with a Chardonnay from fresh juice, but am really curious about MLF with FWK.

Generally speaking, kits are not good candidates for MLF as the acids in kits from reputable vendors are balanced. A few have tried it, and it's likely to make the wine flabby.