Baking soda to reduce wine acid.

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rajeevniro

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Hie everyone..
This is rajeev from a small state of Himalayas named sikkim.. I'm here to talk about kiwi wines that i am making..
I started making it batch by batch
(Note: i had no knowledge about the pH and how it affects a wine quality)
I did my first fermentation with brix measuring 20. later i did some research and found out that ph was to be considered equally important and also got to know that the pH should be between the range of 3 to 4 that too before fermentation..
But when i found this info i was already late.. i ordered a pH scale asap and when i tasted it the wine was really really acidic. I racked the wines and seperated it from the mash and quickly ordered calcium carbonate.. but sadly it takes 2 weeks for any online things to reach here.. so i decided to go with baking soda to reduce the acid content.. i put the clear juice in a clean barrel and it started fermenting 24 hrs after.. i was happy but then a week after when i checked the wines and tasted it has a salty aftertaste which i do not want.. any suggestions?
Was it a mistake to take this decision ? Have i spoiled my wines..?? Is ther any way to correct the mistake??
 
A guideline for where to balance TA on wine;
after club contest this year I collected eight first place wines which are the red triangles
View attachment 81200
The sample set "cloud" is primarily commercial wines, with some collected in the vinters club and here on WineMakingTalk
NOTE: TA is one of several quality traits which a first place wine has as absence of flavor defect, appropriate aroma for the variety and clarity , , , etc.
NOTE 2: this is an easy test, if ya'll are interested in your wine ,,, PM me
How many liters is this batch? The choice is based in part on how many liters you spread the cost over.
* The TA (Titratable acidity) is related to the final consumer quality of your wine. There is a linear function between how much back sweetening and consumer acceptance. ,,, ie you can fix high acid by adding invert sugar (and potassium sorbate) to a high acid wine. Note sorbate can react with ethyl alcohol making an off flavor called ethyl sorbate. This is slow so your product still has a two year shelf life. Large US processors will filter with a 0.45 micron filter instead of adding sorbate.
* The pH isn’t really related to your finished wine acceptability/ taste. The pH is like a fence which reduces the risk of bacterial infection. For fruit wines we want a pH below 3.5. Yeast are also impacted by pH. They don’t grow well under pH 2.8, ,,, BUT you won’t kill yeast till the pH is about 2.2.
* Alcohol is a preservative (another fence reducing risk). Above 5% alcohol food poisoning organisms aren’t a risk, therefore we try to quickly get to 5% ABV. ,,, wine and beer and cider are relatively safe foods to consume.
* chemistry is involved, if you use potassium metabisulphite, it allows you to have shelf life./ delay oxidation. Metabisulphite hydrolyzes into SO2 which is the active agent. This works better at low pH. ,,, The tannin in red grape and bitter apples and Hungarian oak barrels and sumach and Brazilian qucerbo trees etc also acts as an antioxidant, traditionally made products that contain tannin that can last for years.
* There isn’t a good way to remove sodium from a beverage, (if you were making reagent grade water, a deionization cartridge will pull all the minerals out)
* It is hard to make good fruit wine without limiting oxygen after fermentation is done. This sounds like your first fermentation, ,,, can you exclude air with your current containers? ,,, what kind of carboy or clay amphora or HDPE carboy or stainless tank do you have to put the wine in when the fermentation is done? (One month old wine)
* Your second quality issue is reductive flavor, this is mainly related to the yeast having enough nitrogen. This relates to loss of kiwi aroma and generation of bitter notes.
* Your third quality issue will be bacterial infection/ off flavor. This is mainly related to having head space in the carboy or stainless steel storage tank. Volume control (limiting oxygen) is important from once the fermentation is done through to the consumer bottles.
 
Last edited:
Hie everyone..
This is rajeev from a small state of Himalayas named sikkim.. I'm here to talk about kiwi wines that i am making..
I started making it batch by batch
(Note: i had no knowledge about the pH and how it affects a wine quality)
I did my first fermentation with brix measuring 20. later i did some research and found out that ph was to be considered equally important and also got to know that the pH should be between the range of 3 to 4 that too before fermentation..
But when i found this info i was already late.. i ordered a pH scale asap and when i tasted it the wine was really really acidic. I racked the wines and seperated it from the mash and quickly ordered calcium carbonate.. but sadly it takes 2 weeks for any online things to reach here.. so i decided to go with baking soda to reduce the acid content.. i put the clear juice in a clean barrel and it started fermenting 24 hrs after.. i was happy but then a week after when i checked the wines and tasted it has a salty aftertaste which i do not want.. any suggestions?
Was it a mistake to take this decision ? Have i spoiled my wines..?? Is ther any way to correct the mistake??
Best way if you're going to reduce acid, to avoid overdoing it, is to draw off a portion, say about 1/5th of your brew, and do the reduction on that. Blend it back in when it's clear, and taste. If it's OK. leave it to mature. If not, do the same procedure again.
It's not the ideal solution, much better to get it right at the start.
 
Hie everyone..
This is rajeev from a small state of Himalayas named sikkim.. I'm here to talk about kiwi wines that i am making..
I started making it batch by batch
(Note: i had no knowledge about the pH and how it affects a wine quality)
I did my first fermentation with brix measuring 20. later i did some research and found out that ph was to be considered equally important and also got to know that the pH should be between the range of 3 to 4 that too before fermentation..
But when i found this info i was already late.. i ordered a pH scale asap and when i tasted it the wine was really really acidic. I racked the wines and seperated it from the mash and quickly ordered calcium carbonate.. but sadly it takes 2 weeks for any online things to reach here.. so i decided to go with baking soda to reduce the acid content.. i put the clear juice in a clean barrel and it started fermenting 24 hrs after.. i was happy but then a week after when i checked the wines and tasted it has a salty aftertaste which i do not want.. any suggestions?
Was it a mistake to take this decision ? Have i spoiled my wines..?? Is ther any way to correct the mistake??
sodium from baking soda leaves an aftertaste like sodium from Campden tablets. potassium is better
 

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