gesnipes
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i've read some people that say the wine will degas and clear all on its own if you just give it enough time. on the other hand, waldo, the author of this muscadine recipe, recommended to me that i degas and sorbate anyway to eliminate the risk of fermentation restarting. i don't think that will be a risk on the first batch since it is so sweet and such high abv. i think my only concern will be trying to lower the TA. i guess i didn't add enough calcium carbonate at the beginning because TA is between .9 and .95. my second batch i did a little better at somewhere between .8 and .9.
gesnipes, what is your finished TA usually at?
My TA is usually between .7 and .9.
Muscadine, in my opinion, is better as a sweet wine. The flavor comes through better when sweet. However, letting it ferment on its own for 3 months is fine. Fermentation might kick in a little when you sweeten it later.
If you don't mind high alcohol, skip the potasium sorbate. I like to keep chemicals at a minimum, so I don't use sorbate or sulphites. I have 2 year old bottled muscadine wine, and it tastes better than when I first started drinking it in 2008. It keeps well and because I let it ferment until the yeast reaches its tolerance, there is no need of sorbate. I try to keep it a healthy wine.
This is my third year winemaking, and I have never fouled a batch yet.