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Jose' Miller

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As all if you know I am new to this wine making thing. I can tell you that I love dry red wine. Merlot and Pinot Noir are my favorite so far. When tasting the oaked Merlot I can taste the oak and grape. I can taste the slight bitterness tart sensation. Is that tanin? If so, how can I make my wines have that taste/sensation? How do you know how much tanin to add if that is what it is?
 
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The tannin taste is like you take a sip of strong pekoe tea and it has that dry slightly bitter taste.
The directions on the bottle tell me, "Add as needed to increase astringency( pucker to your lips like persimmons) or zest and aid in clearing." You can order it on line at any winemaking store. It is a brown powder derived from grape skins and adds longevity to the wine
I have forgotten how much to add offhand and I hesitate to tell you something wrong.
I did a qick search and came up with this. "Balances low tannin wines and aids clarification. Use 1/4 teaspoon per gallon for white/rose wine must. 1/3 teaspoon per gallon red wine must. 1/2 teaspoon per gallon for fruit wine must."
 
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I am making some Aronia berry wine and would like that cotton or dry mouth feeling at the end of a sip. 5 gallon batch whats your Estimate on how much grape or wine tannin to add to achieve this?
 
Trying to find a guide I read once. It takes you through steps to learn the characteristics of wine in terms of things you are familar with simple comparisons. BUT for now here is a pretty good description of Tannins:
How Does a High Tannin Wine Taste?

  • Tastes bitter on the front inside of your mouth and along the side of your tongue.
  • Tannin makes your tongue dry out.
  • After you swallow you feel a lingering bitter/dry feeling in your mouth.
  • Tannin can often be confused with the term “dry” because it dries your mouth out.
 
tannin additions are best done with bench trials. first because of the difference in natural tannin among grapes and second because of you individual tastes.obtains some post fermentation tannin from morewinemaking .com. , best source that I am aware of thee may be others. then make a 10% tannin solution by adding 10 grams of tannin powder to 100ml of distilled water stir until well dissolved. take a 375ml sample of your wine, for 100ppm add .375 ml to the sample for 200ppm add .75ml and for 300ppm add 1.125ml take all three samples let then sit for about two weeks and then perform taste tests. based on result then add dosage to main wine let set for about a month before bottling. Note that all measurements are in grams or ml. can obtain small gram scales on Amazon for less that $25 and for liquid measurements kitchen ware locations will give you measurement spoons for dosage required.Amazon also good source.
 
How Does a High Tannin Wine Taste?

  • Tastes bitter on the front inside of your mouth and along the side of your tongue.
  • Tannin makes your tongue dry out.
  • After you swallow you feel a lingering bitter/dry feeling in your mouth.
  • Tannin can often be confused with the term “dry” because it dries your mouth out.
That’s some great info. I recently had a discussion/argument against dry wines”’described as the mouth/tongue going super dry vs the lingering or delayed dry feeling in the finish. I did not know the dry mouth stems from tannins tho.
 
I am looking to add the tannin on the finished end
tannin additions are best done with bench trials. first because of the difference in natural tannin among grapes and second because of you individual tastes.obtains some post fermentation tannin from morewinemaking .com. , best source that I am aware of thee may be others. then make a 10% tannin solution by adding 10 grams of tannin powder to 100ml of distilled water stir until well dissolved. take a 375ml sample of your wine, for 100ppm add .375 ml to the sample for 200ppm add .75ml and for 300ppm add 1.125ml take all three samples let then sit for about two weeks and then perform taste tests. based on result then add dosage to main wine let set for about a month before bottling. Note that all measurements are in grams or ml. can obtain small gram scales on Amazon for less that $25 and for liquid measurements kitchen ware locations will give you measurement spoons for dosage required.Amazon also good source.
Just what I was looking for thank you
 
I associate tannin with a feeling, rather than a taste. I also suspect it is the overall balance of acidity, with a little tannin that work together on the finish to give you that flavor and sensation that you are looking for.
 
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