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Cabernet Sauvignon fermented dry - tastes sour

Ok, This is the sixth year that I've made a batch of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon,15% Cabernet Franc from CA Central Valley grapes. In past years my results have been good but the wine was never as dry as I'd like. This year I kept more stems in the fermentation vat and the result is much, much dryer. Presently, the wine tastes almost sour like red bing cherries that aren't very ripe. Is there anything I can do to tone the sourness down at this point?

Would a malolatic fermentation do more hard than good at this stage?

Reply to
Frank Bacon
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You probably got a lot of "green tannins" from the stems. I will let others comment on how to deal with this as I am no expert.

Your previous Central Valley wines probably had high alcohol and lacked acidity which can have the effect of "sweetness" but did not have the harsh tannins to mask the "sweetness" frrm the excessive alcohol and or lack of acidity.

One thing you can do in the future is try to blend some of the Central CA grapes with grapes from other regions that do not have the super high brix and lack of acids.

Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

Paul,

Thanks for your comments. Next year I'll try adjust>

Reply to
Frank Bacon

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