Type of water used with kit

Hi, just started my first 2 batches today, both from WineExpert. I used all spring water as I wanted higher quality water free from any chlorine/fluoride, etc. Does anyone have any comments as to whether using springwater or highly filtered/reverse osmosis vs plain old tap water has any effect on the overall outcome of wine kits?

Thanks in advance from this newbie.

Most people say if your water looks good and taste good, its fine to use. With that said many people will use bottled or filtered water from the store as the chlorine has been removed.

I don't know that any blind testing has been done but I suspect spring water, on average, would give the best taste results in a finished wine. Before I'd use tap or well water I'd have it tested before making a decision to use it in my wine making.

To add a quesrion to what Mike said above, if you're gonna use your tap water, shouldn't you know what the Ph is? Where I live, the water needs to be softened, those chems raise the Ph. Mine is on the alkaline side, Ph of 8.77. If you're using a kit which needs only a few liters of water, maybe not a big game changer. On the other hand, if you're doing kits which need a lot of water, couldn't it make a difference, raising or lowering the final Ph of your wine???

I don't use my tap because of that, am I off track?

Johnd said:

To add a quesrion to what Mike said above, if you're gonna use your tap water, shouldn't you know what the Ph is? Where I live, the water needs to be softened, those chems raise the Ph. Mine is on the alkaline side, Ph of 8.77. If you're using a kit which needs only a few liters of water, maybe not a big game changer. On the other hand, if you're doing kits which need a lot of water, couldn't it make a difference, raising or lowering the final Ph of your wine???

I don't use my tap because of that, am I off track?

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John, I don't think you are off track.

I boil and decant my water before using, leaving behind any semi solids that form at the bottom of the kettle. I'm assuming they are some form of Calcium Carbonate or bi-carbonate. I always did that and cut it with 1/2 RO water for my all grain mashes for beer making.

That habit has carried over into winemaking, mainly because we have some flora in our water supply that survive the occasional large doses of chemicals they add to it. We have always had algae like rings that form on all of the drains and occasionally hang down from the facets. I boil the water to hopefully kill whatever it is so it doesn't take hold in my beer/wine making endeavors.

ceeaton said:

John, I don't think you are off track.

I boil and decant my water before using, leaving behind any semi solids that form at the bottom of the kettle. I'm assuming they are some form of Calcium Carbonate or bi-carbonate. I always did that and cut it with 1/2 RO water for my all grain mashes for beer making.

That habit has carried over into winemaking, mainly because we have some flora in our water supply that survive the occasional large doses of chemicals they add to it. We have always had algae like rings that form on all of the drains and occasionally hang down from the facets. I boil the water to hopefully kill whatever it is so it doesn't take hold in my beer/wine making endeavors.

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Understood, and it sounds like a good practice, particularly since you have some nasties in there. Just curious, what's the Ph of your water?
If college chemistry serves me, boiling water with dissolved solids in them only removes pure water in the form of vapor, leaving behind the dissolved solids. That seems like it would exacerbate the Ph problem.....same dissolved solids in less volume of water. I've been using distilled water to try to avoid ruining the kit Ph balance.

My water comes from a well, gets filtered, and then goes through a water softener. Initially, I used it right out of the tap to make my wine and noticed no ill effect. In the past year,however, I decided to play it safe and used only bottled spring water for my wine kits.

The bottled spring water is one of the least expensive components going into my wine. My local Walmart sells it for $0.69 a gallon and you only need two gallons for the higher end 16 liter wine kits.

There was an article that I read some time ago on the WineMaker Magazine website that recommended the use of spring water. Spring water, as apposed to distilled water, contains minerals that benefit healthy yeast production according to the author.

If the water tastes good out of the tap, it will taste good in a wine.

Johnd said:

Understood, and it sounds like a good practice, particularly since you have some nasties in there. Just curious, what's the Ph of your water?
If college chemistry serves me, boiling water with dissolved solids in them only removes pure water in the form of vapor, leaving behind the dissolved solids. That seems like it would exacerbate the Ph problem.....same dissolved solids in less volume of water. I've been using distilled water to try to avoid ruining the kit Ph balance.

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pH is in the high 7's. Yes boiling does raise the pH, but lowers it's ability to buffer any changes. I then failed to say I add tartaric acid before I add my grain to mash. I add no acid when I make a kit, and my reds have measured in the 3.4 - 3.6 range and the whites 3.2ish.

Thanks all, think I will stick with Spring water. Just procured a microwave for the wine room for warming/heating the water, should help much with the effort.

Kits call for using hot water when mixing in the Bentonite. I use tap for that, but Spring for the rest.

I use a brita pitcher to filter my tap water for all kits.

Pretty much any water that tastes and smells acceptable is fine, except distilled. Don't use that.

I used spring water for my latest. Heated up about a gallon to mix bentonite.

Steve

100% spring water for me. Hakuna matata!

If minerals in the ground help make the grape, wouldn't minerals in spring water be the most beneficial to use?

Edit: What most soils are missing, are minerals. (in most cases).

I mean whata bout dem minrals????

One of the best batches of wine I made was using magic water from Indian Springs here in Georgia. It literately flows thru a rock. Native Americans swore it had healing powers.

Limestone really has a large effect on grapes. In some vineyards they have it brought in by the tons. What type rock does the water flow thru?

Rodnboro said:

One of the best batches of wine I made was using magic water from Indian Springs here in Georgia. It literately flows thru a rock. Native Americans swore it had healing powers.

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What type rock does the water flow thru?