balanced wine

[granda]

my question is
when is a wine balanced for example a port style wine (sweet and acidic?)
or the higher the alcohol the sweeter the wine but how do you know if you have added enough acid or taken some out to make it balanced,or is it personal taste
i suppose really my question is how much acid it to much for each wine catagory(dry medium sweet) and the higher the alclhol content the higher the sweetness?

[lockwood1956]

See here

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3436

for a guide to acidity and alcohol content, if you are making wine to fit a comp class you will need to be close to these numbers, otherwise, make it how you like it to taste

regards
Bob

[lockwood1956]

i suppose really my question is how much acid it to much for each wine catagory(dry medium sweet) and the higher the alclhol content the higher the sweetness?

Sweetness and alcohol content are not necessarily linked, its the body that needs to match the alcohol content, but I feel its easier to get the balance right with a high alc sweet wine, than a dry one.

[NorthernWiner]

Bob's correct.

I actually had to give a presentation on this topic a few years ago.

Three things you should remember...

Sweet and acid compliment each other. Think of lemonade. Would you drink it if it didn't have sugar?

Sweet and astringency (from tannin) are neutral to each other. If you've ever added sugar to your tea, you know that this combination will work. However, many people enjoy tea without sugar as well.

Astringency and acid fight each other. Dry, acidic, tannic wine is the worst combination.

[NorthernWiner]

And with regard to alcohol content, if everything else is in balance and the wine has plenty of flavor and richness, then it can support a higher alcohol content. But sweetness alone doesn't balance high alcohol.

I've tasted dry Shiraz with 16%+ alcohol and it was perfectly in balance, because it was also very rich on the palate and packed with fruit flavor. If it were a thin wine, it would've been undrinkable.

[granda]

@lockwood the wine by style guide is great but what is 0.4% acidity as grams per liter
@northernwiner thats well explained and exactly what i was looking for thanks

[lockwood1956]

0.4% acidity is 4 grams per litre

[granda]

thanks all this answers a good few questions