1. Home
  2. Winemaking Craft Forum
  3. Acid level in desert wine

Acid level in desert wine

I want to make a Muscat Desert Wine using Alexander's Sun Country Muscat Grape Juice Concentrate. I intend to use the method outlined in the FAQ for rec.crafts.winemaking.

"To use the non-traditional method, adjust the sg by adding honey and concentrate (usually 3 parts concentrate to 1 part honey) to the desired alcohol yield. Ferment until dry. Stabilize the wine and filter. After stabilization, add concentrate & honey to raise the sg to about 1.050 (THIS IS NOT A TYPO). At this point proceed with normal winemaking techniques (fining, cold conditioning, and it MUST be filtered).

It is important to control the acid levels, especially when using the concentrate feeding method, as concentrates are already acid balanced for 23 litres."

I do not know what level of acidity I should shoot for when making this type of wine. I don't know where to find this info either. I need suggestions please.

Thanks, A.J. Rawls Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Reply to
A. J. Rawls
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
Droopy

A.J., I would agree with Droopy; I make a lot of northern hybrids and shoot for acid in the 7 to 9 g/l range when I make them sweet.

That is a whole lot of sweetening, it sound like close to 10% RS. I might do that in stages, it seems excessive. 3% is pretty sweet. I might use honey for sweetening since our honey is really nutrient poor, it loves to stick so seems appropriate for sweetening.

Alexanders is not something I have a lot of experience with in concentrate but I did try some Chenin Blanc in a can a few years back and it tasted 'cooked' to me; it's been mellowing into a sherry for the last few years. I rarely give up on a wine. If it wants to be something other than what I intended who am I to interfere?

Joe

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

Thanks Droopy.. I'll use acid blend and shoot for 0.9... I'll try to make this adjustment before adding any honey.

Reply to
A. J. Rawls

Thanks Joe. I went back and read the FAQ again.. The level of sweetness in it is for Ice Wine. I will heed your advice and sweeten it to my Child Bride's taste. She tried a Sweet Muscat in California and really enjoyed it.

I rarely make grape w>A.J.,

Reply to
A. J. Rawls

Dessert wines like ice wine or sauternes are high in both acid and sugar, some Riesling ice wines I've seen were around 14 g/L TA. Sugar is typically at least 7%, often higher.

The levels of 7-10g/L TA and 3-4% sugar would apply more to late harvest style wines, e.g., Spatlese Rieslings.

You could make both styles from a concentrate, just by changing the dilution factor. The one thing you won't get is a botrytis taste.

Pp

Reply to
pp

Dandelion wine is incredible...

Joe

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.