Acid Adjustment

[Bubbabobob]

Hello,
Looking for some advice on acid adjustment. Made some Merlot in the fall, went through fermentation and ML with no issues. The acid in the must was high but figured I’d deal with it later, ie now. Wine in aging in carboys and the TA is 1.05 with pH 3.30. I live in Canada so I have cold stabized already but did not really do much to the TA. Have read about Acidex and a few other options, leaning towards Acidex but asking if any other suggestions or techniques.
Thanks

 

[NorCal]

I just went through acid reduction on my Viognier and really happy with the results. I used potassium bicarbonate, cheap and easy. I did bench trials in .5 gram per liter increments and landed on 1.5 grams per liter. Results were dramatic and immediate. It would be best to cold stabilize after as there will continue to be fallout for a period of time.

 

[Ajmassa]

I will second @NorCal’s suggestion. Same scenario. I landed on a .6g/L dose after bench trials. Currently been cold stabilizing for about 2.5 weeks now.
When I remove from CS I’ll rack right away and bottle a few days later.

 

[cmason1957]

I just read the following advice from Daniel Pambianchia, cold stabilization should be the last step before botlling. No PH changing after doing that. So you will probably want to cold stabilize again. Reason for that statement is you are messing with the chemistry of your wine greatly when you add/subtract acid and that will most likely impact the cold stability of your wine.

Before you do change it, how does it taste? Is it pleasant to drink now or are you just changing it because it doesn't match a made up perfect number? Would you be able to make it better by blending it with a wine with a higher PH number? Those are some things to think about, not a full list.

 

[Bubbabobob]

Thanks for the input, it tastes very tart, a bit of green apple still even after ML, that’s why I was leaning towards Acidex as it’s reported to drop both tartaric and malic.
I’ve got three carboys, maybe I’ll try one method in each. I’m not in any hurry as it’s just made this fall.

 

[Johnd]

Thanks for the input, it tastes very tart, a bit of green apple still even after ML, that’s why I was leaning towards Acidex as it’s reported to drop both tartaric and malic.
I’ve got three carboys, maybe I’ll try one method in each. I’m not in any hurry as it’s just made this fall.

You shouldn’t have any malic if it went through MLF......