Wine is very acidic

[cozmochico]

I purchased 3 carboys of juice from a vineyard in NY state, in October. 1 Chardonnay, 1 Isabella, and 1 foch. I added a packet of yeast to each, and a little meta bisulfite. It fermented vigorously for about a month. I racked it once a month since. It was a little acidic at first racking, I thought that would settle out, it didn't. I want to bottle soon, but it is still very acidic, about 4 PH. I was wondering if there was something i can add or do to save the wine. I made wine once before, about 10 years ago, using the same method, with very satisfying results. Not sure what I did wrong this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

 

[Julie]

Isabella and Foch can be high in acid. I have a Foch going right now. You can add some potassium bicarbonate and cold stabilize that will get your acid levels down.

 

[1tonmama]

It fermented vigorously for about a month.

Wow. Sounds like a heck of a lot of fermentation...

 

[novalou]

I purchased 3 carboys of juice from a vineyard in NY state, in October. 1 Chardonnay, 1 Isabella, and 1 foch. I added a packet of yeast to each, and a little meta bisulfite. It fermented vigorously for about a month. I racked it once a month since. It was a little acidic at first racking, I thought that would settle out, it didn't. I want to bottle soon, but it is still very acidic, about 4 PH. I was wondering if there was something i can add or do to save the wine. I made wine once before, about 10 years ago, using the same method, with very satisfying results. Not sure what I did wrong this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

Did you measure the pH? 4 is high. Typically you want it around 3.5.

Get an acid titration kit, see what you come up with.

 

[cozmochico]

thanks, can you elaborate a little on "cold stabilize" ?

 

[novalou]

thanks, can you elaborate a little on "cold stabilize" ?

Chill the wine down to 30 deg F. The tartaric acid will precipitate out of the wine and crystallize at the bottom of your carboy.

 

[cozmochico]

thank you

thanks i'll try it

 

[REDBOATNY]

Chill the wine down to 30 deg F. The tartaric acid will precipitate out of the wine and crystallize at the bottom of your carboy.

You will need to leave the wine at this temp for 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[Julie]

what equiipment do you have to make wine? You really should have a hydrometer and know what your ABV is. This might just be a very high alcoholic wine and you maybe mistaking that for high acid. also, the wine may be just very young and you maybe tasting that. A ph of 4 is a high ph which would tell me that acid is low. as stated above get a titration kit and test your acid before doing anything else.

 

[hector]

It fermented vigorously for about a month.

Vigorous fermentation does NOT last one month long !

Perhaps the Airlock bubbled now and then because of a change in Temperature or Pressure , so you thought it's still fermenting .

You'd better know the initial and final S.G. of your Wine .

How did you measure the pH ?

If you're 100% sure that it's 4 , then it would be better to reduce it to around 3.5 . It leads to longer stability of the Wine .

Hector

 

[hector]

The tartaric acid will precipitate out of the wine and crystallize at the bottom of your carboy.

What precipitates out of Wine after Cold Stabilization is not Tartaric Acid .

It is Potassium Bitartrate , also known as Cream of Tartar .

Hector

 

[novalou]

What precipitates out of Wine after Cold Stabilization is not Tartaric Acid .

It is Potassium Bitartrate , also known as Cream of Tartar .

Hector

Among other things that will precipitate out, one of which is tartaric acid.

 

[hector]

Among other things that will precipitate out, one of which is tartaric acid.

The Solubility of this acid is 1390 grams per Liter at 20 Degrees C and after adding the Potassium salt to reduce the acidity , a great portion of it is converted to Potassium bitartrate which has a much lower solubility in acidic solutions .

Hector

 

[cozmochico]

the hydrometer floats just below zero. help! it was vigorous for a couple weeks but it bubbled a long time.

 

[cozmochico]

hydrometer floats just below 0. help!

 

[JohnT]

This simply means that your wine is fully fermented.

Pure water has a SG of 0. Since wine contains alcohol, which is light than water, a "below zero" SG is to be expected when most of the sugar has been converted to alcohol.

Get it into a secondary container and get it sealed up with a fermentation lock.

 

[hector]

it was vigorous for a couple weeks but it bubbled a long time.

NEVER RELY ON THE AIRLOCK TO SAY THE WINE IS STILL FERMENTING .

That's one of the main Principles in Wine making .

Always use your Hydrometer to see if the Gravity is still dropping .

Hector