Acid in My Chocolate Cherry

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RegionRat

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2012
Messages
759
Reaction score
151
My batch of chocolate cherry has ph 4.66 and T/A 7. Do you think the number are that way because the cocco powder has high ph. I looked it up and pH for natural cocoa powder generally ranges from 5.0 to 5.8.

Do you think I need to make any corrections.

RR
 
Did you taste it? If you like the taste let it along
 
The problem is, I dont know what this one should taste like. It is going to be more of a port. I thought it was stuck but it was just the density of the coco powder thew off my sg reading. Long story short I kept feeding it sugar till it didnt ferment any more. I am thinking the ABV is in the 18-20% range. So, a combination of the high alcohol, it being a very young wine, started it first week of Aug, and I dont know what a chocolate wine is supposed to taste like has got my head spinnung.

I did see a few bottles of chocolate red wine at the wine store the other day. Maybe I should grab a bottle for sampling...

RR
 
Well for me, I would want to get a good taste of cherry and have a nice chocolate finish, like eating a chocolate covered cherry. I think, but I could be wrong, that the problem is you used coco powder. I always use an 85% dark chocolate. I have tasted wines that had coco powder used and it just seams like it is all thru the wine with no separation of other flavors. I think buying a bottle of commercial is a good idea.
 
Thanks. Your description sounds Like what I am going after. The reason I used powder was I found a recipe for strawberry chocolate and just adapted it to cherry.

How much 85% dark chocolate would you use for 3 gal batch. Or, care to share your recipe?

RR
 
About 3oz. per gallon of dark chocolate.
 
About 3oz. per gallon of dark chocolate.

Thank you. I went with 4 oz powder per gallon. Again I hope I didnt over dose on this like I did with my Cherry and Vanilla debockle. Time will tell

RR
 
Last edited:
After u tasted it 45 mins later did you carry on a 6 hour conversation with an alien?
 
4 oz cocoa powder per gallon should work out fine in the long run. The acids in the cocoa need some time, so do not panic.
 
...I have tasted wines that had coco powder used and it just seams like it is all thru the wine with no separation of other flavors. I think buying a bottle of commercial is a good idea.

I picked up 2 bottles of chocolate wine. One Strawberry and one Red Wine.
I tested them and got ph 3.5 and T/A of 5 for both. The sg was 1.030 for Strawberry and 1.024 for the Red Wine.

At least that give me some numbers to shoot for. I was amazed how much they were sweetened. I think it is to counter the bitter tasted of the coco.


RR
 
Good, yes it is always good to have numbers to shoot for. Did you like the wines that sweet? I had a winemaker once tell me that he has to over sweeten certain wines because that is what sells.
 
Good, yes it is always good to have numbers to shoot for. Did you like the wines that sweet? I had a winemaker once tell me that he has to over sweeten certain wines because that is what sells.

I would have to say they didnt taste that sweet. They do have the flavor I am going for though.

I am so afraid to over sweeten. My first attempt at sweetening was with an Apple Berry Blend I made a while ago. I blended to 1.010 thinking that would be good starting point. Way too sweet. Now I add simple syrup to a sample a little at a time and taste as i go along. When I get the the sweetness I like I take sg of sample the sweeten to that number.

RR
 
I am never sure when it comes to backsweetening, my taste changes and I realize that I like a certain sg then all of a sudden it is too sweet. I take enough wine out to taste and to take a hydrometer reading. I put a little sugar in, taste and if I like it, I check what the reading is, now that is what I shoot for.

Chocolate does cover the sweetness but I don't like to say that too often, cuz I just don't know what your sweet level is.
 
I really dont like over sweet things. I try to use the sugar to bring out the flavor. Kinda like salt on a good steak. Some things benefit from it.

I am finding out that there is no magical sg for every wine. 1.010 of one is way too much for another.

RR
 

Latest posts

Back
Top