Tannin in red wine

I have just tried some of my 2007 red(Regent,a German hybrid that ripens well in England),and although quite good and fruity and well balanced with respect to acid,seems a little harsh in terms of tannin.I usually ferment on the skins for 4-5 days when making reds,and wonder if this is too long for future batches.How can one tell what is the correct time for fermentation on the skins?Presumably there should be enough alcohol present in the early stages to dissolve the red pigment.It is sometimes quite difficult to tell when the fermentation has started. Michael P.S.I assume that the tannin will precipitate out eventually if I leave it some while longer in a demijohn.

Reply to
michael
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It is a balancing act. What is the pH and TA. If the acids are high, then the tannins really exacerbate the harshness. If the acids are on the low to moderate side then you can have more tannins without excessive harshness. I am learning this the hard way myself.

Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

Try a bench trial first. Don't add it to your whole batch until you experiment with a small amount.

As for the ML, it is added by many not just to reduce acid but as an insurance policy against spontaneous or self starting ML which can occur post bottling - not a good thing to have happen.

Since a lot of wines will go through ML if you add it or not, it is a good idea to add a good strain of it as opposed to letting mother nature use whatever is there which may or may not produce what you want.

If you do not want ML to occur on its own, you are probably going to want your SO2 to be more than what you have added thus far. Of the 60 ppm, about half if it is going to be bound.

The California Wine Institute proposes an upper limit of 175 ppm for reds and 225 ppm for whites. The FDA allows up to 350 ppm

Here is a good reference:

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While a lot of this is pretty advanced stuff, you can skim through it and pick out enough to be of benefit to you.

Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

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