Blackcurrant wine with a zing ( = too acid) ...

[chris_b]

Picking up from the advice/info in the bilberry thread...

Summary: I have a couple of gallons of blackcurrant wine that is very acid - lovely taste (alcoholic Ribena for those who know it) then wham! you get the acid aftershock.


Hippie and Bob - thanks for the pointers on malic/citric fruits

Daw -

If you have a pH meter take a pH reading and also a acid reading you are looking for an acid level in the range of .6% to .75% and this will have a lot to do with your particular tastes. The pH should be in the range of 3.0 - 3.5.

The pH measured with my precision £15 chinese pH meter is 2.8 which seems to confirm what my taste buds say. (Must get some buffer solution and calibrate the meter)

I'm not equipped to measure acid eg in part-per-thousand as sulphuric or %, but will be passing a supplies shop on Thursday and will get the necessary.

if you have to decrease the acid use potassium carbonate

Is this preferable to precipitated chalk? I have some of that to hand, but not potassium carbonate. The supplies shop has some "acid reducer"; I will check the label when I go there...

Sweetening the wine with a sugar syrup ... may also get you past the sharp acid taste of the blackcurrants

I usually make my wines dry but perhaps I should turn this into a sweeter after-dinner/pudding wine? (sounding more like alcoholic Ribena by the minute)

Chris

[StockeyDAW]

[QUOTE=chris_b;29513]Picking up from the advice/info in the bilberry thread...

Summary: I have a couple of gallons of blackcurrant wine that is very acid - lovely taste (alcoholic Ribena for those who know it) then wham! you get the acid aftershock.


Hippie and Bob - thanks for the pointers on malic/citric fruits

Daw -



The pH measured with my precision £15 chinese pH meter is 2.8 which seems to confirm what my taste buds say. (Must get some buffer solution and calibrate the meter)

I'm not equipped to measure acid eg in part-per-thousand as sulphuric or %, but will be passing a supplies shop on Thursday and will get the necessary.Great you should be able to get a handle on the acidity then. The pH is low and makes us think that some sodium carbonate to increase it somewhat would help things out.



Is this preferable to precipitated chalk? I have some of that to hand, but not potassium carbonate. The supplies shop has some "acid reducer"; I will check the label when I go there...

The calcium carbonate is also used but it has a great possibility of leaving behind a distinct chalk flavor. If the potassium carbonate is used sparingly it will be hard to taste the additive but will notice the decrease in acid quickly. Both of these carbonates are mainly to reduce tartaric acid and mainly used for grape wines. There are some other products such as Acidex but for this it is suggested to only use this before you start the fermentation process. As said this acid thing is tricky - much better to have everything in balance before the fermentation is started. Try the potassium carbonate in a small scale trial it is not expensive and you may be surprised of what it can do. Also the sweetening with the sugar syrup may be your answer. Cheers Daw

I

[NorthernWiner]

Is this preferable to precipitated chalk? I have some of that to hand, but not potassium carbonate. The supplies shop has some "acid reducer"; I will check the label when I go there...

Chris,

Make sure that whatever "acid reducer" you purchase will work on malic/citric, if that's what blackcurrant contains. Most of the potassium and calcium salt-based reducers only work for reducing tartaric acid.

My own preference is usually to simply sweeten any overly acidic fruit wines.

Good luck.

Steve

[StockeyDAW]

This is a quote from Heston Blumenthal, the Willy Wonka of modern British cooking. As I said these acids are very tricky. Many other fruits and vegtables other than grapes have some tartaric. Cheers Daw


So is he. One of his petit fours is a beetroot jelly - a sort of upmarket fruit pastille. "It's funny when you watch people eat it," he says with Puckish glee. "Tell them it's beetroot and they start to look nervous and don't know if they like it. But if you say it's blackcurrant they think it's delicious. In fact, beetroot, like blackcurrant, contains tartaric acid and that's what makes them taste so similar."

[NorthernWiner]

Many other fruits and vegtables other than grapes have some tartaric.

I forget that sometimes. In addition to grapes and pineapples, many root vegetables contain tartaric, including beet, potato, and (gasp!)... parsnip.

[StockeyDAW]

I forget that sometimes. In addition to grapes and pineapples, many root vegetables contain tartaric, including beet, potato, and (gasp!)... parsnip.

Steve -- ya this tartaric and acid stuff has many faces. Tartaric acid is the strongest so very little may show itself when in combination with the other main acids of the fruit or berry and by just lowering that it may be of some benefit? Also if an acid blend or tartaric acid was used as part of the recipe that may also contribute? I have some carbonate standing by for the blackcurrant melomel that I have bulk ageing just in case I have to try something. If we use it as a trial with one liter of the young wine or mead is it worth the try? I don't no for sure but I would be trying it - if it works great but if not I have only lost one liter and that kind of makes sense? I think that the back sweetening is probably the best if we can all get into something sweet? Cheers Daw

[chris_b]

Thanks again all,

I'll see what I can find in the way of acid reducers as suggested above, do some trials and report back

Chris