High acid wne dilemma

[buddy]

I'm trying to make some wine from locally grown grapes that are very high in acid content.
So far this is what I have.--- Picked, destemmed, and crushed 40 pounds of grapes. Added the equivalent of 4 campton tablets.
The sg is1.062, PH=2.87, TA=2.4%.
I took 12 pounds of chokecherries out of the freezer that are currently thawing out and will add them to the primary tomorrow along with 4 gallons of water.
I will bring the sg up to 1.090 using simple syrup, as well as adding pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient.
I know that the acid content will still be too high but the chokecherries should help somewhat because they need a lot of acid blend when doing a wine from them. As an example my last batch of chokecherry needed 10 teaspoons of acid blend to bring the TA up to .6% for a 6 gallon batch (used 25 pounds of fruit).
I also plan on cold stabilizing this wine after fermentation.
Is there anything else that I should consider to bring down the acid?
I still have a lot of chokecherries in the freezer if this would help.
Should I be adding more water? I have a lot of empty carboys so batch size is not an issue.
Would potassium carbonate help? I have never used this before and it is not available locally so I would have to order online.
Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[Julie]

I'm trying to make some wine from locally grown grapes that are very high in acid content.
So far this is what I have.--- Picked, destemmed, and crushed 40 pounds of grapes. Added the equivalent of 4 campton tablets.
The sg is1.062, PH=2.87, TA=2.4%.
I took 12 pounds of chokecherries out of the freezer that are currently thawing out and will add them to the primary tomorrow along with 4 gallons of water.
I will bring the sg up to 1.090 using simple syrup, as well as adding pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient.
I know that the acid content will still be too high but the chokecherries should help somewhat because they need a lot of acid blend when doing a wine from them. As an example my last batch of chokecherry needed 10 teaspoons of acid blend to bring the TA up to .6% for a 6 gallon batch (used 25 pounds of fruit).
I also plan on cold stabilizing this wine after fermentation.
Is there anything else that I should consider to bring down the acid?
I still have a lot of chokecherries in the freezer if this would help.
Should I be adding more water? I have a lot of empty carboys so batch size is not an issue.
Would potassium carbonate help? I have never used this before and it is not available locally so I would have to order online.
Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated.

check your acid level after you add the sugar to bring your sg to your desired level and taste your wine, is it strong enough that you could add water? Don't add water to a must that has a weak flavor.

If you have your must to the flavor you want, sg that you want and the acid is still high you can add calcium carbonate.

 

[joea132]

I used potassium carbonate on some juice that had high acid content but you have an extreme case. Sounds like they were picked a bit early maybe?

When you add the carbonate go VERY slowly. It's the same reaction with baking soda and vinegar from 1st grade!

 

[buddy]

I was able to get some calcium carbonate today. Between that and the blending with the chokecherries I was able to bring the PH and TA in line to where I wanted it to be. The taste of the must is amazing, if it turns out the way I think it will, I will be doing this blend again next year.
As far as the grapes go for my area, this is as good as they get. It is near to the end of the growing season so they won't be getting any better than they are now.

 

[FreshWineMaker]

Remember Buddy that you only want to lower TA by at most .3 with Calcium Carbonate. in order to deal with high acid, you may want to consider just back sweetening to balance it out. make sure to test, test, test. It's easier to add to the rest of the batch rather removing it if you've added to much.

 

[buddy]

Remember Buddy that you only want to lower TA by at most .3 with Calcium Carbonate. in order to deal with high acid, you may want to consider just back sweetening to balance it out. make sure to test, test, test. It's easier to add to the rest of the batch rather removing it if you've added to much.

Yes, the research that I did mentioned this as well. Basically it amounts to two teaspoons of calcium carbonate per gallon as a maximum. This is exactly what I did and the acid numbers were still too high, so I added more chokecherries to increase the size of the batch.
The end result was a PH of 3.65 and a TA of .9%. Still not ideal but I can live with this.
Because the numbers were now more favorable I decided to go with a starting gravity of 1.082.
I do plan to sweeten about 80% of this batch. The other 20% will be used for topping up other batches and for making vinegar.
I really do like the flavor of this must. It has the characteristics of both the grapes and chokecherries which I find to be complimentary.
Thanks to all for your help.

 

[DaDzWinery]

Yes, the research that I did mentioned this as well. Basically it amounts to two teaspoons of calcium carbonate per gallon as a maximum. This is exactly what I did and the acid numbers were still too high, so I added more chokecherries to increase the size of the batch.
The end result was a PH of 3.65 and a TA of .9%. Still not ideal but I can live with this.
Because the numbers were now more favorable I decided to go with a starting gravity of 1.082.
I do plan to sweeten about 80% of this batch. The other 20% will be used for topping up other batches and for making vinegar.
I really do like the flavor of this must. It has the characteristics of both the grapes and chokecherries which I find to be complimentary.
Thanks to all for your help.

Sounds amazing as you explain it.. where and what kind of tester do you have for the acid and ph levels ?

 

[buddy]

Sounds amazing as you explain it.. where and what kind of tester do you have for the acid and ph levels ?

To measure the TA you need an acid test kit. They are not very expensive and will help you to make better wines.
To measure the PH I have a digital PH meter. There are also PH test strips available for wine making but I've never used them so I don't know exactly how good they are.
The nice thing about the PH meter is you can use it in conjunction with the acid test kit that way you could find the end point far more easily.

 

[DaDzWinery]

To measure the TA you need an acid test kit. They are not very expensive and will help you to make better wines.
To measure the PH I have a digital PH meter. There are also PH test strips available for wine making but I've never used them so I don't know exactly how good they are.
The nice thing about the PH meter is you can use it in conjunction with the acid test kit that way you could find the end point far more easily.

Thanks, next time i'm in my supply shop, I'll pick up more equipment.. I went in with an open mind and told the guy to help me pick out the basics ( pretty much a shopping spree for him ) , And suprisingly that's what he did, didn't add anything i didn't need and seem to have just what i need to start out.. but i am the type that if i am going to do it, than I am in it all the way..