On Mar 19, 10:00*pm, "frederick ploegman" >
wrote:
> "Wayne Harris" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > 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?
>
> (Oct 2003)
>
> Ed Goist once wrote:
>
> «Throughout the fermentation of a grape-based wine, there is both an
> increase in the Total Titratable Acidity resulting from fermentation,
> and a decrease (precipitation) of some of the grape's natural fruit
> acid (Tartaric).
>
> The acids resulting from fermentation & the winemaking process account
> for an increase in TA of approximately 2.0 - 2.5 g/l. *This increase
> is mostly the result of the formation of Succinic acid [0.5-1.25 g/l].
> Succinic acid is the "acid of ethanol" & it is responsible for the
> common sour taste shared by all alcoholic beverages. *However, other
> acids are formed as well during the fermentation, including: Lactic
> [~0.3 g/l ], Phosphoric, Carbonic (from the formation of CO2),
> Sulfurous (due to the pre-fermentation addition of SO2) & Acetic.
>
> However, with a grape wine, this increase in "fermentation related"
> acids is almost perfectly offset by an equal reduction in Tartaric
> acid due to the precipitation of potassium bitartrate during & after
> fermentation.
>
> Note that this same increase in the TA during fermentation also occurs
> with wines made from concentrate, as the process of concentration
> removes almost all of the potassium bitartrate from the must prior to
> fermentation».- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Sorry to beat this thread to death, but I need to ask another question
that is related.

I just started another batch from concentrate. A 5 gallon batch from
concentrate.
I used Cabernet concentrate from WilliamsBrewing.com
What i found interesting is that on WilliamsBrewing's web site, it
claims to not need any acid as it is already acid balanced.
However, when i reconstitued the wine, I measured .25% TA.

I added 60g of Tartaric Acid to bring up to .6% TA.


Why would the maker of the concentrate say that .25% is "balanced" ?