Gum Arabic

[Bmd2k1]

I'm curious to hear from those that use Gum Arabic in their wines.

- what wines typically
- what "blemishes" in your wines do you use this to help smooth out
- how much do you use & when are you adding it
- powdered vs liquid version
- anything else about Gum Arabic you care to share...

Also am interested in a Gum Arabic vs Glycerin convo...


Here's an article from WineMaker Mag that just came in on Gum Arabic

Cheers!

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have used gum Arabic for the purpose of reducing astringency. My impression was that it didn’t do much on astringency.
The form I have is a dry powder. It was easy to disperse. Dosage ____ , One nice thing about gum arabic is that in food systems it doesn’t gel making a pudding, ,,, we can put a lot in. ,,, For reducing astringency I didn’t feel it did anything.

 

[Rocky]

Wow! One really does learn something every day. I have never heard of Gum Arabic being used in winemaking. Interesting article. Thanks for posting.

 

[TurkeyHollow]

I'm curious to hear from those that use Gum Arabic in their wines.

- what wines typically
- what "blemishes" in your wines do you use this to help smooth out
- how much do you use & when are you adding it
- powdered vs liquid version
- anything else about Gum Arabic you care to share...

Also am interested in a Gum Arabic vs Glycerin convo...


Here's an article from WineMaker Mag that just came in on Gum Arabic

Cheers!

I previously read the same article and did a side-by-side comparison. Unless you do, you really can't appreciate the difference. I split a batch of last year's Chardonel that was intentionally left very acidic (pH 3.22, TA 1.1%, ABV 13.4). Half the batch was bottled as is and the other batch I added 30ml of a 20% solution of gum arabic just before bottling. After sitting in the bottle for about (6) weeks, I brought a bottle of each down to the LHBS to get some feedback. I was amazed by the difference. The acidity was still way too high but gum arabic seemed to take the edge off of it. Again, you need to taste them side-by-side - if you taste them a day apart, the differential is lost. My only regret is that I didn't split the batch into thirds and compare the glycerin as well.

 

[VinesnBines]

I previously read the same article and did a side-by-side comparison. Unless you do, you really can't appreciate the difference. I split a batch of last year's Chardonel that was intentionally left very acidic (pH 3.22, TA 1.1%, ABV 13.4). Half the batch was bottled as is and the other batch I added 30ml of a 20% solution of gum arabic just before bottling. After sitting in the bottle for about (6) weeks, I brought a bottle of each down to the LHBS to get some feedback. I was amazed by the difference. The acidity was still way too high but gum arabic seemed to take the edge off of it. Again, you need to taste them side-by-side - if you taste them a day apart, the differential is lost. My only regret is that I didn't split the batch into thirds and compare the glycerin as well.

How many gallons/liters for the 30ml? I'm ready to bottle a few things, in particular, six gallons of 2022 Vidal. I'll be splitting the batch for cold stabilization so I would like to try adding gum arabic, glycerin, and leaving some dry.

 

[TurkeyHollow]

How many gallons/liters for the 30ml? I'm ready to bottle a few things, in particular, six gallons of 2022 Vidal. I'll be splitting the batch for cold stabilization so I would like to try adding gum arabic, glycerin, and leaving some dry.

The 30ml was for 3 gal. It was a little heavy-handed because of the high acidity. I recommend doing a bench test with about 100ml samples and add in increments of .1ml (if you have pipettes small enough). Please post your comparison to the glycerin along with the specs on the wine being modified. I'm probably going to do this a couple more times with wines of varying TAs and I will also try with reds to see how it reacts with anthocyanins (if ambition allows). I know it affects pearlage in sparkling wines so maybe I'll test the effects on my Skeeter Pee since all my other wines are still.

 

[VinesnBines]

The 30ml was for 3 gal. It was a little heavy-handed because of the high acidity. I recommend doing a bench test with about 100ml samples and add in increments of .1ml (if you have pipettes small enough). Please post your comparison to the glycerin along with the specs on the wine being modified. I'm probably going to do this a couple more times with wines of varying TAs and I will also try with reds to see how it reacts with anthocyanins (if ambition allows). I know it affects pearlage in sparkling wines so maybe I'll test the effects on my Skeeter Pee since all my other wines are still.

I'll post my results. I tried gum arabic on a couple of harsh wines in the past but didn't do a side by side so I'm not sure how well it worked.

 

[bdahl]

I'm curious about these wines and your impressions after using Gum Arabic, 1 year later.
Have you decided to use it again in 2024? And if so, on which wines, why, and in what qty /ratio?
Cheers!

 

[mbleill]

I have been using liquid gum arabic for several years on all of my white wines. It enhances mouth feel. I also add glycerine. Both just before bottling. Gum arabic at the rate of 1 milliliter per liter. (23 ml for 6 gallons of wine) This is consistent with the referenced rticle written by Daniel Pambianchi. I also add glycerine at the rate of 2 milliliter per liter. (46 ml for 6 gallons of wine). I do not add GA or glycerine to my dry reds.

 

[bdahl]

I have been using liquid gum arabic for several years on all of my white wines. It enhances mouth feel. I also add glycerine. Both just before bottling. Gum arabic at the rate of 1 milliliter per liter. (23 ml for 6 gallons of wine) This is consistent with the referenced rticle written by Daniel Pambianchi. I also add glycerine at the rate of 2 milliliter per liter. (46 ml for 6 gallons of wine). I do not add GA or glycerine to my dry

Gum arabic + Glycerine? Interesting. Our whites are already well textured this year, I'm thinking about trying it to broaden a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Blend. Nothing beats a test, I suppose - I'll take the 1ml/L ratio, thanks!

 

[Christopher Anderson]

My question: many add glycerin or Arabic just before bottling, but don't you stir it in? will that not mix up any leeds or junk left in the bottom? Why not add and let sit for a few days before bottling?

 

[Ohio Bob]

Yes, stir it in. But also, NEVER bottle straight from a carboy with lees. ALWAYS rack to a vessel where you can add sorbate if needed, Kmeta, glycerine, any last minute wine blending, etc.

 

[winemanden]

Glycerine needs to be mixed in. If you just add it to the bottle at bottling time and swirl the bottle later, you may get the impression that there is something wrong. It will look like an oily streak, but can be fixed by shaking the bottle well.

 

[mbleill]

I add the glycerine and gum arabic to an empty carboy and any other final ingredients like SO2, ( sorbates if sweetened), then rack the wine into the carboy.
Let carboy sit for 3 or 4 days before bottling.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I add the glycerine and gum arabic to an empty carboy and any other final ingredients like SO2, ( sorbates if sweetened), then rack the wine into the carboy.
Let carboy sit for 3 or 4 days before bottling.

Glycerin is too thick to diffuse into the wine without some assistance (stirring). I would recommend against doing it this way.

 

[TurkeyHollow]

Glycerin is too thick to diffuse into the wine without some assistance (stirring). I would recommend against doing it this way.

I think the agitation would occur when wine is racked over it - kind of like "batch-priming" beer to be bottle conditioned. The swirling of the wine will dilute the solute into solution.

 

[Raptor99]

I always rack to a clean carboy before bottling. I add Kmeta to the empty carboy before racking, and the rest of the additives such as glycerin, sorbate, sugar, etc. and stir thoroughly before bottling. Glycerin is pretty viscous, so I don't think that the agitation from racking would be enough.

 

[mbleill]

After placing 50 ml of glycerin in the bottom of a 6 gallon carboy the glycerin will be thoroughly stirred and dissolved when doing the final racking using the AIO vacuum pump. The wine agitation caused by pumping in the 6 gallons will be more than enough to dissolve the small quantity of glycerin. Then let it set for a couple of days before bottling. I have done this hundreds of times with good success. Additional stirring under oxygen would tend to add to the wine's DO value, (Dissolved Oxygen).

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I like to add sorbate, Kmeta etc during racking but typically do so when about 1/4 to 1/3 of the wine has been transfered to the destination vessel - so you still get the benefit of mixing by flow of wine but the additives get to dissolve in the bulk wine first. I think I did it this way the one time I used a gum arabic preparation, though maybe I mixed the gum in a little wine first?

I had one strange experience with racking/additives which I documented here. Basically, I had two carboys containing the same wine to which I added a fining agent during racking. One carboy settled out and cleared as expected (and as per my bench trial), but the other remained profoundly cloudy. I don't have a definitive answer as to why this happened but I think I added the fining agent to the 5 gal (clear) carboy when it was partly full during racking (as above) whereas for the 7 gal (cloudy) carboy I added it to the bottom of the empty vessel. I wonder if the fining agent had an adverse reaction to a small amount of dilute acid in the bottom of the empty carboy (residual cleaning agent, most likely Starsan).

 

[Rice_Guy]

I used a gum arabic preparation, though maybe I mixed the gum in a little wine first?

Powders are always better when hydrated first. There is a liquid version gum arabic available.