it also calls for some K-meta... i swear i had some with the fruit kit i got... maybe i misplaced it.
im wondering if i misunderstood... is grape tannin an Absorbic acid... or would it say "Absorbic Acid" on the jar?
again First time!
K-meta is relatively inexpensive. I get a pound of it for about 4.00. I use it both as the preservative and in a solution with water for a sanitizing agent. I'd recommend you get some in addition to the packets that come with wine kits. I keep a handy spray bottle with sulfite solution for spraying areas that I make wine in, as well as spraying equipment like spoons, hydrometer, etc.
Tannin is NOT Ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is basically Vitamin C. You can get ascorbic acid at some pharmacies, perhaps in the baking section of grocery stores and here in my town, at the local Bulk Food store. It's often used on fruit to keep it from oxidizing.
When I was a kid, my mother would cut up apples into slices that would be eaten later. A sprinkle of ascorbic acid on them slowed down the browning of the apple flesh. When you see that browning on apple flesh? That is the oxidizing process going on right before your eyes!
