High Acid in 1 Yr Aged Chianti-How do I decrease the acid?

[Mekpdue]

Hello all. I have a 1 year old aging 6 gallon carboy of Chianti juice (now wine). This batch of juice has been a problem since day 1 with slow fermentation, stuck fermentation, and slow Malo-Lactic fermentation. It has been 1 year to the day since I began the ferment. The PH has always been low (@3.1), and after this weekend's racking and Kmeta addition, the ph is 2.99. The wine has been degassed. The taste is a bit tart, but not overly 'citrusy' but isn't meeting my expectations. What can I do to improve the taste/lower the high acid?

From what I've been researching the best options are:
1) Add sugar (simple syrup) or my thinking is wine conditioner to taste...maybe .4% or around 3.5 ounces of wine conditioner. Add, take a reading...add, take a reading go slow and raise the ph to around 3.2? I'd like to bring it to around 3.3ph but that might throw out any balance I can keep. Plus, I don't want a 'sweet' wine. If I use the wine conditioner, my thinking is I don't need to add Sorbate since it's in the conditioner.
2) Add Potassium Bicarbonate - .9g/L or around 5.5 ounces, and rack again in a month.

Does anyone have any advice on this predicament? Would more tannin help? IE, add Oak cubes or a spiral, or tannings to help decrease the acid and add some mouthfeel?

Thanks for the assist, and no, I don't have any TA measurements.

 

[winemaker81]

Before I'd use a carbonate or bicarbonate to reduce acid, I'd try cold stabilization. Get six 4 liter jugs and divide the wine up. Refrigerate each jug for 2 weeks to drop tartrate crystals.

If the wine still tastes sharp, then add sugar.

No offense intended, but the final pH is a completely meaningless number. I might take a reading out of curiosity, but the number itself is of no value. If the wine tastes good, the pH does not matter.

Ditto for the amount of sugar. Do not pre-judge how much it's going to take to adjust the wine, because that number is also meaningless. Add sugar until the wine tastes right.

Trust your senses.

 

[winechef]

If you added kmeta and k sorbate that should have raised ph.

cold crash should help,

then if still not right

take 100 ml. samples adjust by adding a little k sorbate, in one, add a little sugar syrup, in a another add more tannins in another, find the best fit. then adjust your base. small adjustments and wait

 

[Rice_Guy]

you are on the right track, sugar or an artificial could be used to balance the acid.
Cold crash as noted would remove acid. Do you have a time line? January is comming. Bicarbonate removes acid. Calcium carbonate would be slow.

Tannins magnify the sensation of acid. This isn’t viable

 

[Mekpdue]

Thanks everyone. Cold stabilization it is. I’m in a patience game with this batch and the cold weather is coming, or I need to pick up a new (used) fridge. I never really thought of cold to help with this issue since it’s a red..

Sugar will be a last resort, but as @winemaker81 stated, balance it out for taste, not ph. Very well stated, Bryan.

 

[Mekpdue]

or I need to pick up a new (used) fridge.

Or, split into gallon jugs and split the chill.

 

[winemaker81]

Or, split into gallon jugs and split the chill.

Yeah -- most people can fit an extra 4 liter jug in their fridge. It's the slow way to do it, cycling multiple jugs through, but it works.

I don't miss a lot of things about winter in Rome NY, but cold stabilizing on my front porch is one of them. Except for very cold snaps, my porch never got below 34 F.

 

[VinesnBines]

gallon jugs and split the chill.

If you don't have enough glass jugs, heavyweight plastic water jugs will do since it should be stable; no referm.

 

[Mekpdue]

my porch never got below 34 F

I understand that, in NE Ohio I have an open front porch and a back deck. If I place them near the house I'm good (usually) through Christmas. Jan and Feb are usually just too cold for long stretches, as the nights is where the cold really settles in below 30.

 

[Cap Puncher]

I would take a small 50-100ml sample and put in you fridge for a few weeks to see if it is worth it for cold stabilizing. You could do a bench trial at different levels of potassium bicarbonate as well.

Taste and test. I have read that not much falls out with pH below 3.2. Also. It will drive you pH down even more if it does work. With a pH that low be careful with potassium metabisulfite, you will get a lot more free SO2 which will show up in the aroma. pH definitely matters for sulfite management.

 

[wineview]

Yeah -- most people can fit an extra 4 liter jug in their fridge. It's the slow way to do it, cycling multiple jugs through, but it works.

I don't miss a lot of things about winter in Rome NY, but cold stabilizing on my front porch is one of them. Except for very cold snaps, my porch never got below 34 F.

When cold stabilizing outside, do you use a bung and airlock or is a cap ok.

 

[winemaker81]

When cold stabilizing outside, do you use a bung and airlock or is a cap ok.

I lived in Rome over 30 years ago, so options were more limited. I used drilled stopper and airlock. Today I'd use a vented bung.

 

[Cap Puncher]

Either is fine, if prefer a bung if you don’t open it. It will create suction and it should be fine. I still tape the top just to be safe.

The airlock could freeze (depending on the soln) or as the volume of wine shrinks, it will suck air back in (or soln if to full). If you open it cold, definitely need an airlock when it is warming back up because it will expand.

 

[wineview]

Either is fine, if prefer a bung if you don’t open it. It will create suction and it should be fine. I still tape the top just to be safe.

The airlock could freeze (depending on the soln) or as the volume of wine shrinks, it will suck air back in (or soln if to full). If you open it cold, definitely need an airlock when it is warming back up because it will expand.

Just to be sure. I don’t have a solid bung so I would be ok with a screw cap, correct?

 

[Dav]

Hello all. I have a 1 year old aging 6 gallon carboy of Chianti juice (now wine). This batch of juice has been a problem since day 1 with slow fermentation, stuck fermentation, and slow Malo-Lactic fermentation. It has been 1 year to the day since I began the ferment. The PH has always been low (@3.1), and after this weekend's racking and Kmeta addition, the ph is 2.99. The wine has been degassed. The taste is a bit tart, but not overly 'citrusy' but isn't meeting my expectations. What can I do to improve the taste/lower the high acid?

From what I've been researching the best options are:
1) Add sugar (simple syrup) or my thinking is wine conditioner to taste...maybe .4% or around 3.5 ounces of wine conditioner. Add, take a reading...add, take a reading go slow and raise the ph to around 3.2? I'd like to bring it to around 3.3ph but that might throw out any balance I can keep. Plus, I don't want a 'sweet' wine. If I use the wine conditioner, my thinking is I don't need to add Sorbate since it's in the conditioner.
2) Add Potassium Bicarbonate - .9g/L or around 5.5 ounces, and rack again in a month.

Does anyone have any advice on this predicament? Would more tannin help? IE, add Oak cubes or a spiral, or tannings to help decrease the acid and add some mouthfeel?

Thanks for the assist, and no, I don't have any TA measurements.

Here is an article by Daniel Pambianchi

Hello all. I have a 1 year old aging 6 gallon carboy of Chianti juice (now wine). This batch of juice has been a problem since day 1 with slow fermentation, stuck fermentation, and slow Malo-Lactic fermentation. It has been 1 year to the day since I began the ferment. The PH has always been low (@3.1), and after this weekend's racking and Kmeta addition, the ph is 2.99. The wine has been degassed. The taste is a bit tart, but not overly 'citrusy' but isn't meeting my expectations. What can I do to improve the taste/lower the high acid?

From what I've been researching the best options are:
1) Add sugar (simple syrup) or my thinking is wine conditioner to taste...maybe .4% or around 3.5 ounces of wine conditioner. Add, take a reading...add, take a reading go slow and raise the ph to around 3.2? I'd like to bring it to around 3.3ph but that might throw out any balance I can keep. Plus, I don't want a 'sweet' wine. If I use the wine conditioner, my thinking is I don't need to add Sorbate since it's in the conditioner.
2) Add Potassium Bicarbonate - .9g/L or around 5.5 ounces, and rack again in a month.

Does anyone have any advice on this predicament? Would more tannin help? IE, add Oak cubes or a spiral, or tannings to help decrease the acid and add some mouthfeel?

Thanks for the assist, and no, I don't have any TA measurements.

Here is an article by Daniel Pambianchi on acid adjustments that might be helpful: Acidification/Deacidification - Daniel Pambianchi