Sour wine

[mikejapan]

I had posted in March that I had 15 gallons of wine in secondaries that I started in October that was sour. I checked again today and it was about the same. I used the tartaric acid kit and as far as I can tell the acid is .8 percent. P.H. Is 3.17. Specific gravity .998. It seems to have a good flavor, only sour. I would like to salvage it if possible. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mikejapan]

I had posted in March that I had 15 gallons of wine in secondaries that I started in October that was sour. I checked again today and it was about the same. I used the tartaric acid kit and as far as I can tell the acid is .8 percent. P.H. Is 3.17. Specific gravity .998. It seems to have a good flavor, only sour. I would like to salvage it if possible. Any help would be appreciated.

I rechecked the tartaric and it is actually 1.1 percent.

 

[joea132]

Best way is to blend with low acid wine. But I've used potassium carbonate too with good results.

 

[BobF]

http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/acidph.htm lists the options. I don't know what kind of wine it is, so it's hard to recommend where to take it. Whether or not you plan to backsweeten will matter as well.

 

[mikejapan]

It's from Frontenac grapes which are pretty acidic anyway.

 

[JohnT]

I would lower the acid with a little k-bicarb.

 

[mikejapan]

Thanks for your help. Where would you start with the potassium bicarbonate in grams per gallon and how soon would I want to test the acid again?

 

[JohnT]

This site has a calculator (its after the acid calculator).

http://vinoenology.com/calculators/acid-addition/

I would recomend that you transfer your wine (first) into a much larger open container. Much like adding baking soda to vinegar, you will get an immediate release of a large volume of gas. By putting your wine into a large bucket, you will avoid any potential erruptions.

Once the wine stops fizzing (after a few minutes), rack back into your carboy and go ahead an git it a little taste in the process. You should notice an immediate difference.

 

[mikejapan]

I added 1 teaspoon of potassium bicarbonate to a liter and the ph came up to 3.5 but the TA did not seem to move much at all. The taste was about the same. I chilled it in the freezer and added 8 teaspoons of sugar and it tasted ok for sweet wine. I wonder if it would be better if I siphoned back to the carboy for a couple weeks. I guess I'll give that a try unless anyone has a better idea. I'm all ears.

 

[mikejapan]

I added 1 teaspoon of potassium bicarbonate to a liter and the ph came up to 3.5 but the TA did not seem to move much at all. The taste was about the same. I chilled it in the freezer and added 8 teaspoons of sugar and it tasted ok for sweet wine. I wonder if it would be better if I siphoned back to the carboy for a couple weeks. I guess I'll give that a try unless anyone has a better idea. I'm all ears.

Actually one half teaspoon k-bicarbonate to a liter

 

[ckassotis]

I think jackkeller does a good job of listing common issues and a whole bunch of common/other causes for that issue.

Here is what he lists for sour:
[SIZE=+1]Sour Taste[/SIZE]: The most common cause for a sour wine is acidity. In berries (including grapes and tomatoes) and fruit, the core cause of too much acidity is most likely under-ripeness, followed by insufficient dilution with water, not enough balance with sweetness, or a combination of the foregoing with a secondary cause. Secondary causes of sourness are (a) the fruit or juice spoiled before the wine reached a self-preserving 10% alcohol level (common in watermelon), (b) a lactic acid bacterial infection soured the wine (especially likely if MLF did not conclude or sulfites were not used to prevent MLF), or (c) a souring product such as lactose (milk sugar) or lactic acid was used incorrectly. Fruit that have bruised spots (wind-fall peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, loquats, apples, etc.) should not be used in winemaking without first cutting out the bruises, as these spots will quickly spoil and ruin the wine. Juice from melons, but especially watermelons, is prone to spoilage if fermentation is not conducted very quickly. For these wines, it is best to use a starter solution into which 2 or 3 sachets of a very fast yeast (such as Montrachet) are added to ensure a rapid build-up of yeast population before introducing it to the must. Hydrate the yeast in the starter solution for several hours before it is needed to allow the yeast population to double and redouble.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.asp

 

[mikejapan]

This year I bought netting and I am leaving them on the vine much longer. Thanks for the link.

 

[UBB]

Did you do a ML fermentation??

 

[mikejapan]

No I did not, it sounds kind of complicated. I'll have to read up on it.

 

[Wiz]

In a previous post which I recieved no reply I asked the question of what to do when you have have high acid and have already added 3.4g/gallon of potassium bicarbonate. I tripled my dosage and brought the TA down to 7.5. Tasted just like it is supposed to taste like with no salt taste.

 

[mikejapan]

After five days in the fridge there is a noticeable difference. I may be able to save this stuff anyway. I am still going to try ML on six gallons to see what that does. Thanks for all the help.