too acidic...

[morgdan]

The TA in my wine was too low, so I added tartaric acid... I think I may have added too much... is there a correction for this? Do I correct before I press (I'm at 6 brix now) or after I press? Help! (I still need to track down an accurate way to measure the acid). Thanks.

 

[Luc]

Morgdan,

I do not know what the wine was made off.
Secondly you do not tell us at what point the TA is at this moment.
Info on these is appreciated.

The easiest solution would be to make some extra must, bring it to the desired SG and mix it in. You will have more wine then, but it will be dilluted naturally.

Adding banana juice will be next best option.
Bananas have low acid and high brix.
So adding that to the must would be a good choice.

Bananas will take the flavor from the original juice and the banana
smell and taste will dissappear during fermentation.

Luc

 

[morgdan]

here's where i'm at...

...my grapes are cab sav. i estimated that we would have about 13.5 gal. of juice after pressing (i will soon find out if this was wrong!). the initial TA was 0.45%. I added 3.5 oz. of tartaric acid, hoping to bring the TA up 0.2%. With some difficulty, because the wine is so dark, I now get a TA of about 1.05 to 1.1%. I am at 4 brix.

 

[Wine Maker]

I think you are going to have to wait until your fermentation is completed before you can determine if the acid is too high. Are you abe to test the pH? To raise the TA by .12 for each gallon the dosage is approx 1 level teaspoon per gallon of tartaric acid. Next time, and I don't know think this helps this time around, but I always add 1/2 what I think is needed and because it is easier to adjust up rather than down.

 

[Reluctant Chemist]

Hello Morgdan, I agree with Wine Maker. Wait until primary fermentation is complete, then chill the wine for a couple of days. Much of the excess tartaric will precipitate out. If the acidity is still too high, the attached link gives some ideas on how to reduce it. (http://accuvin.com/Monitoring Acids and pH in Winemaking.pdf)

Regards,

 

[Fermentationist]

Another way to get rid of tartaric acid is to cold-condition the wine. The cooler the better, so long as it is not freezing. The tartaric acid will precipitate to the bottom as a solid -- cream of tarter. There are also some kinds of special chalk you can add that help precipitate out more tartaric acid.

 

[Fermentationist]

I failed to mention something in my last post:

Once all the tartaric acid has precipitated and settled (it may take several weeks or months), siphon the wine off the precipitate.

 

[morgdan]

Thank you...another question....

Thank you for all your help!

I'll be studying the "Monitoring Acids" download tonight.

Assuming I go with the cooling method to precipitate the tartaric acid, I'm assuming I should wait until all evidence of secondary fermentation has passed (bubbling)...?

 

[Fermentationist]

Thank you for all your help!

I'll be studying the "Monitoring Acids" download tonight.

Assuming I go with the cooling method to precipitate the tartaric acid, I'm assuming I should wait until all evidence of secondary fermentation has passed (bubbling)...?

Yes. You should wait until all the activity has stopped before you place it in the cold.

I am having a problem with a red from grapes I harvested this September. Right now my basement is too cold, and I don't think that Malo-Lactic Fermentation was finished when it started getting cold.

When I turn the heat on in a few weeks, I am going to have to bring my carboy upstairs to a dark place to finish MLF. I will probably also need to add a fresh MLF culture.