More acidity is a good thing?

[Grape Expectations]

I have been making orange wine and found that it tasted a bit acidic (3.4 pH) so I added 2 tsp of precipitated chalk to my 10L buckets at the outset on this latest batch, but I am finding the finished product just doesn't taste right, it's like something is missing because that acidity is no longer there (3.8 pH). It's hard to explain it but the wine smells like a Band Aid, an antiseptic smell?

The "original product" with no chalk added, seemed acidic but I think that acidity helps the overall profile.

It doesn't help that I keep drinking my wine young and, I know it mellows out if it's left a month or two. Since lowering the acidity increases the risk of bacteria (and it was never overly acidic to start with) I think adding the chalk isn't helping it.

This last batch is the strongest I have made yet at around 17.5% and I am sure I am pushing this yeast to its limit. Lowering the acidity did not speed up the fermentation process. This yeast is very hardy.

This batch with lowered acidity is arguably "more quaffable" but I don't like my wine coming out the way this has. I won't be adding chalk next time.

 

[Jim Welch]

Typically band aid notes are a sign of Brettanomyces infection/exposure. Maybe the chalk was contaminated with Brett if only wine with chalk is like that.
I see you note the wine “mellows” after one or two months and I believe it, aging wine works wonders, have you tried aging any longer, like one or two years?

 

[Grape Expectations]

I bet it is the chalk because it's near the end of it's shelf life, although it came from a sealed container.

Jim, I have only been making wine for a few months so haven't aged any for a considerable time. The longest was the cranberry one I made because it stalled and took a month to get to about 10% ABV. That was then mixed with an orange wine to take some sweetness away and bump up the ABV to about 15% and that's came out to be one of the smoothest wines I have ever tasted.

 

[Jim Welch]

I understand with small batches like many home vintners make it can be difficult to age any for long but I advise you to put at least one bottle from each batch away for longer aging. It is amazing how much some wines improve. Witnessing it yourself is a real eye opener IMO.
It was for me…

 

[mikewatkins727]

@Grape Expectations you'll find that patience is a virtue in this hobby. May I suggest going for a larger batch next time, say 3 gallons. That's 15± bottles. By the time you get to #12 there will be some aging done. Don't give up.

 

[Raptor99]

@Grape Expectations A pH of 3.4 is a good starting point for most fruit wines. Oranges are acidic, so if you raise the pH too much it will no longer taste like an orange. Next time I suggest that you age it for a while, and they try backsweetening. Sugar will help to balance the acid. Orange juice is both acidic and sweet, so you need both if you want it to taste like oranges.

In my experience, most fruit wines are best with an ABV of around 12%. Higher alcohol levels tend to mask the fruit flavors. But of course there are various opinions about this on WMT.

 

[BigDaveK]

I like some of my fruit wines on the acidic side, like blackberry and cranberry.

Jeeze Louise, stop tweaking young wine!
We all read about how wine changes with time. But like @Jim Welch said, experiencing an incredible transformation of your own wine is truly an amazing experience.