Hello.

I have two strawberry lots now underway in primaries - one with a TA of
0.3 and the second, 0.6.

The .3 seems low - should I correct it? when? And what should I use?

Thanks!

Jack

Jack wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I have two strawberry lots now underway in primaries - one with a TA of
> 0.3 and the second, 0.6.
>
> The .3 seems low - should I correct it? when? And what should I use?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jack
>
If the 0.3 TA level is correct, then it is low. best to correct it as
early in fermentation as possible... using tartaric acid (u could use
citric acid for strawberry wine, but tartaric is a bit 'softer' on the
palate).

Gene

Jack keller reports that tartaric is the hardest tasting acid, citric
the freshest....

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp



gene wrote:
> Jack wrote:
> > Hello.
> >
> > I have two strawberry lots now underway in primaries - one with a TA of
> > 0.3 and the second, 0.6.
> >
> > The .3 seems low - should I correct it? when? And what should I use?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Jack
> >
> If the 0.3 TA level is correct, then it is low. best to correct it as
> early in fermentation as possible... using tartaric acid (u could use
> citric acid for strawberry wine, but tartaric is a bit 'softer' on the
> palate).
>
> Gene

I think citric might go better with strawberry too. That 3g/l TA
sounds wrong, it's way too low. Does this taste really flabby or is it
very diluted? Strawberries in PA are really tart, you need a lot of
sugar and just a little touch up of citric up here usually.

Joe

I think it's important to establish whether this wine will be drunk dry
or with some residual sugar? If it's going to be dry, an initial TA of
3 g/l may be fine without any tartaric addition. Non-grape wines don't
get tartrate precipitation (unless they've got significant tartaric
acid in the must), so you will see a TA *increase* after fermentation.
Depending on how acidic you like your dry strawberry wine, you might
want to leave it. Certainly, I wouldn't acidify to 6 g/l in that case.
If you want a sweet wine, however, then acidifying may be a good idea.

BTW, I agree with Jack keller that tartaric appears "hard" whereas
citric appears "fresh". Citric is the predominant acid in strawberries,
so a number of winemakers prefer using it in strawberry winemaking. It
just depends on the acid profile you want.

Ben
Improved Winemaking
www.brsquared.org/wine

I think it's important to establish whether this wine will be drunk dry
or with some residual sugar? If it's going to be dry, an initial TA of
3 g/l may be fine without any tartaric addition. Non-grape wines don't
get tartrate precipitation (unless they've got significant tartaric
acid in the must), so you will see a TA *increase* after fermentation.
Depending on how acidic you like your dry strawberry wine, you might
want to leave it. Certainly, I wouldn't acidify to 6 g/l in that case.
If you want a sweet wine, however, then acidifying may be a good idea.

BTW, I agree with Jack keller that tartaric appears "hard" whereas
citric appears "fresh". Citric is the predominant acid in strawberries,
so a number of winemakers prefer using it in strawberry winemaking. It
just depends on the acid profile you want.

Ben
Improved Winemaking
www.brsquared.org/wine

Let's hear Jack Keller's definition of "hardest"... I've tasted them
both side-by-side, and I don't get that impression of tartaric acid.

Citric acid, in my opinion, takes over the flavor profile more than
tartaric acid.

Gene

Droopy wrote:
> Jack keller reports that tartaric is the hardest tasting acid, citric
> the freshest....
>
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp
>
>
>
> gene wrote:
>
>>Jack wrote:
>>
>>>Hello.
>>>
>>>I have two strawberry lots now underway in primaries - one with a TA of
>>>0.3 and the second, 0.6.
>>>
>>>The .3 seems low - should I correct it? when? And what should I use?
>>>
>>>Thanks!
>>>
>>>Jack
>>>
>>
>>If the 0.3 TA level is correct, then it is low. best to correct it as
>>early in fermentation as possible... using tartaric acid (u could use
>>citric acid for strawberry wine, but tartaric is a bit 'softer' on the
>>palate).
>>
>>Gene
>
>

Thank you, gentlemen for the replies.

As I read them, the thought occurred to me to split the batch now, and add
acid to half of it. I think perhaps a compromise - half citric and half
tartatic.

The low acid batch is a Roate strawberry recipe, and was the same recipe used
in one of my earlier efforts ('68, consumed in '06 and GREAT! I added a bit
of tannin and yeast nutrient to this batch, and am using EC1118 rather than
bread yeast spread on white toast used in the earlier recipe).

gene wrote:

> Let's hear Jack Keller's definition of "hardest"... I've tasted them
> both side-by-side, and I don't get that impression of tartaric acid.
>
> Citric acid, in my opinion, takes over the flavor profile more than
> tartaric acid.
>
> Gene
>
> Droopy wrote:
> > Jack keller reports that tartaric is the hardest tasting acid, citric
> > the freshest....
> >
> > http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp
> >
> >
> >
> > gene wrote:
> >
> >>Jack wrote:
> >>
> >>>Hello.
> >>>
> >>>I have two strawberry lots now underway in primaries - one with a TA of
> >>>0.3 and the second, 0.6.
> >>>
> >>>The .3 seems low - should I correct it? when? And what should I use?
> >>>
> >>>Thanks!
> >>>
> >>>Jack
> >>>
> >>
> >>If the 0.3 TA level is correct, then it is low. best to correct it as
> >>early in fermentation as possible... using tartaric acid (u could use
> >>citric acid for strawberry wine, but tartaric is a bit 'softer' on the
> >>palate).
> >>
> >>Gene
> >
> >