"William Frazier" > wrote in message >...
> James - Do you have the equipment to measure the acid in wine? I ask
> because there are ways to reduce acid but you have to know where you are
> starting from. If you have the acid titration data answer back and we can
> go from there. Also, how much sugar is "too much"?
>
> Bill Frazier
> Olathe, Kansas


Yes I have an acid titration test kit. I have not tested it yet. I
find that the color change involved is most difficult to judge "by
eye". So, I bought a cheap Ph meter to determine "the change" as
indicated by a reading of 8.2 on the Ph meter. I guess I don't have
the confidence in the technique to trust the results. As soon as I
return from out of town I'll test it and post the results.
Regarding the question about "too much sugar" I typically add no more
than 8 oz to the gallon of my blackberry to get a pretty sweet wine.
I've added 12 oz to the gallon of the muscadine and as was said it
seems to mask the acidity not really sweeten the wine.
I'm using the same North Carolina muscadines that a local winery uses
to produce a great wine. The winery owners say to use 12-15 pounds of
grapes per gallon and that they add nothing else except yeast. So, I
didn't figure I needed to dilute the must with water to acheive the
right acid content. But, I didn;t test the acid content as I said
because I'm intimidated by the procedure. ALso, I like to use as much
fruit as possible to acheive a large flavor content.