Wine Tannin Amounts

[cohenhouse77]

I recently bought a pound of L.D.Carlson wine tannin. The directions say to add 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of white wine, 1/3 teaspoon per gallon of red wine, and 1/2 teaspoon per gallon for fruit wines. This goes against most recipes I have seen that call for 1/2 teaspoon of tannin for six gallons. If I follow directions, it means three full teaspoons for 6 gallons of my fruit wines. Any suggestions?

 

[Bartman]

I recently got the same tannin bottle. I agree that seems like a lot of tannin to add. I added 1/2 teaspoon for 6 gallons of a Grand Cru Int'l Brunello kit a few months ago, so I haven't had the opportunity to see how it performs. I plan on tasting it soon, as I have it bulk aging for a few more months, to get a sense of how much more I want to add (if any). My feeling is that it is a personal preference how much tannin to add, as some folks may like more tannin than others.

If you want to more exacting about it, split your batch into 2 or 3 portions and test different amounts of tannin against an no-tannin-added control portion.