1. Home
  2. Winemaking Craft Forum
  3. Lost my acid.

Lost my acid.

I have 5 gallons of apple wine that after the last racking, I tasted and it was what I had hoped it would be. Very clear, very dry and crisp with a slight tart bite to it. My wife asked if I could sweeten it a little, just off dry. I added a half bottle of commercial sweeter to the 5 gallons, mixed well, racked into another 5 gallon carboy and let it sit for a week to see if there were any reactions and let it stabilize. When I tasted it again, it was very smooth with the same flavors and bouquet as before, just a hair off dry, but it seems to have lost that crisp bite, its acid. Now it seems bland. Is this typical of the results that can be expected when adding a sweeten? I have 5 gallons of Ravat-51 that I was think of sweetening, but am hesitant to do now. Any suggestions?

Reply to
genekay
Loading thread data ...

I suspect you didn't lose your acid, you just mask it with the sweetness. It's referred to as "balance." If you raise one taste component like sweetness, it will tend to mask other flavor components. That is why sweeter wines must have elevated levels of acid to avoid the "flat" taste. Might try adding some malac or tartaric acid to offset the sweetness. The sweet will remain, but the finish should crispen.

Fred

Reply to
Fred Williams

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.