Adjusting Acid?

[bbqbailey]

I recently made wine from Welch's Grape Juice. It was my first attempt, and I wanted something simple and cheap. So, it tastes simple and cheap! I made a second batch, and this one too tastes simple and cheap. Duh!

I bought a Ph meter, and plan on testing the wine today before racking it. But I'm already pretty sure I want to add some Tartaric Acid to it, which I have.

What do you suggest: add a little, then taste, and add until you get the amount that tastes right? Or add based on Ph readings? I lean towards adding by taste, but I don't know enough to know if it will change, leaving me with something too acidic.

Thanks!

 

[winemaker81]

Pre-fermentation, I may adjust the acid and always go gentle with adjustment. It's very easy to get into an acid yo-yo, adjusting up and down if too heavy handed. Generally speaking I don't adjust the acid if the pH is between 3.1 and 3.8.

Post-fermentation? I always adjust by taste and while I may measure pH, it doesn't affect my actions, since the pH meter doesn't drink the wine so I don't care what it thinks.

Seriously, if the pH is too high or too low, the taste will reflect that so the changes I make are typically in line with the pH readings, anyway.

 

[mainshipfred]

I would recommend using bench trials for your acid addition.

Take 4 samples of wine, about 8-10 ozs each. The amount doesn't really matter nor does if they are all equal amounts.

Leave one as your base to taste against. With your fingers put small but differing amounts in the others, stir and taste to see which pleases you palate the most. I might recommend once you do the initial tasting leave it sit for a few hours to make sure the acid is integrated properly in the wine.

Once you make your final decision take the pH reading of the base against the one you prefer. The formula is one gram per liter of tartaric acid lowers the pH by .1. Use this to determine how much acid to use in your bulk wine.

This only works if you are determining it with a bench trail. If you are just trying to get from the base to a certain pH there is a property called buffering with wines. All wine have differing buffer properties which may require a bit more or less than the formula recommends.

If trying to get to a pH without a bench trail it is best to use half the recommended amount and recheck to avoid buffering issues.

Please remember that adjustments to a finished wine is best determined by taste rather than by numbers.

Hope this helps.

 

[BigDaveK]

The important point is you successfully made wine. Simple and cheap? So what - you made it!

I try to get the pH below 3.6 for decent microbial protection. Of course it's all about the taste but I don't know about you, my palate sucks. Bench trials and a pH meter helps with palate education.

 

[bbqbailey]

Pre-fermentation, I may adjust the acid and always go gentle with adjustment. It's very easy to get into an acid yo-yo, adjusting up and down if too heavy handed. Generally speaking I don't adjust the acid if the pH is between 3.1 and 3.8.

Post-fermentation? I always adjust by taste and while I may measure pH, it doesn't affect my actions, since the pH meter doesn't drink the wine so I don't care what it thinks.

Seriously, if the pH is too high or too low, the taste will reflect that so the changes I make are typically in line with the pH readings, anyway.

Thanks for your help!

 

[bbqbailey]

The important point is you successfully made wine. Simple and cheap? So what - you made it!

I try to get the pH below 3.6 for decent microbial protection. Of course it's all about the taste but I don't know about you, my palate sucks. Bench trials and a pH meter helps with palate education.

Thanks for the insight! I just sampled it. Proud to say it tastes Great - just like my favorite old shoes taste great!

 

[Rice_Guy]

* if I have a sample of wine at contest I/ we are provided with a little acid blend that can be sprinkled in the sample, basically test the concept to see if more acid helps or makes it worse.
* the answer on taste is that the grams of acid per liter is related to flavor impact in your mouth. Wine is a balance between sweet flavors (sugar and alcohol) and acid responding flavors (acid and tannin). pH is not a good flavor predictor