On Mar 16, 8:53 pm, jim c wrote:
On Mar 17, 12:08 am, Wayne Harris wrote:



In my continuing quest to kill this batch of wine, I have messed up
the acid balance.

Here is the story:
I have a 5 gallon batch of Cabernet Sauvignon (from concentrate) that
has finished primary.
Prior to inoculating, I measured the reconstituted juice and found
that the titrateable acid was very low, about .3%. I wanted to raise
the acidity to between .6% and .7%.
In order to do this, I used the following formula:

4.1g Tartaric Acid/1 gallon = .1% rise

So in order to raise 5 gallons of wine to .65% (a .35% rise) I
calculated the following:

5(4.1g)/5(1) gallon=.1% rise
3.5(20.5g/5gal)=3.5(.1%) rise
71.75g/5gal=.35% rise

I added this acid to the juice and re-measured the TA. It was up to .
4%
After a 20 min wait, I re-measured and it was still .4%
I added another 20g.

After a 20 min wait, I re-measured and it was still .45%
I added another 20g.

After a 20 min wait, I re-measured and it was still .45%
I then added 40g.

After a 20 min wait, I re-measured and it was still .7%
good

Now, almost 2 months later, I re-measured and the TA is .82
Crap
The taste is very tart. Go figure.

So, what is the best way to add acid? Should I have waited longer
before adding more? Does it take a while for the acid to fully
dissolve?

Where did I go wrong?

Hi Wayne, I am no expert, but I am pretty sure that the initial
addition of acid (72g) was correct to raise the acidity to 0.7% After
adding it I would have stirred very well without splashing and been
happy with that. If I was to wanted to double check, I would have
waited 12 hours or so after stirring and then given it another lesser
stir before measuring. In my experience the apparent acid after a
decent stirring is always lesser immediately than it is after a few
hours or even a day.

I guess it was a mistake to fear that the acid 'hadnt worked' and add
more, especially so soon.

For future reference (just as an idea) the webpage athttp://web2.airmail.net/sgross/fermcalc/fermcalc_applet.htmlis an
excellent tool for quickly calculating/double checking additions of
acid and sugar (as well as other useful tools). I don't carry the
maths in my head (I should remember the square at least) and use this
tool often to work out my wine details.

I also suspect - though I court corroboration for this or denial -
that it is a good idea to aim for a middling acid level (for the given
type of wine) the first time you make it. Maybe adjust up and down
from there after tasting the finished wine. Maybe just using the
information for the next batch. That is my approach now in making
country wines. Until recently I aimed for almost the maximum acids
for my wines as well as the maximum suggested tannin levels. I am
starting to see that not every wine suits the acid levels I've used.
Though I have yet to regret my tannic addition...

I don't know if the wine heads here have any better suggestions, but
all I can think is that ideally you would buy a 6 gallon secondary
and add another gallon of juice to the must (adjusting sugar levels if
required). Then gently adjusting the acid if required to a more
forgiving level. Some say its not a good idea to add acid during
fermentation, I haven't tried it myself, but I doubt it can do much
harm if it is done gently...

You could if necessary try chemical acid reduction. I did this for a
rhubarb wine and it worked very well. It does require that you add
winemakers chalk (calcium carbonate?) to reduce the acid by a given
amount.

Anyway, I digress, I guess you asked about where you went wrong rather
than potential fixes, but I've had some of my plum wine and I figure
it can't hurt...

Good luck, Jim

Wow. First off, kit wines are pre-balanced so the need to make a
drastic change like that is questionable. Use your taste buds as a
tie breaker, always. They are the best instrument you own.

Next, never add that much acid. I think you acid test kit is bad, the
NAOH may be off. You are literally measuring tartaric acid per given
quantity, it sounds like you added way too much.

That said, get the wine as cold as possible 28F is ideal. That will
pull excess tartaric out

Please don't take this wrong, I'm not being critical. All I'm saying
is the real art in winemaking is knowing when to say no, you seem to
have gotten too into getting the numbers right to stop and do a
reality check on them.

Don't give up, chill it.

Joe