is adding tannin late okay?

first post on a great looking forum,

i'm living in thailand, working in india. i've got 4 X 5 gallon batches of wine on the go (mango, rasin, dragon fruit and rambutan). when i started the wine, i never had any tannin (the mango and rambutan both call for it). i've since got some here at work from a coworker, by the time i get home it will be have been racked from the primary to the secondary about 40 days previous.

will it be too late to add the tannin at this point, or will it even matter.do you think it would be a mistake?

thanks in advance for any help on the matter.

gt

Welcome to HBT!

I think the only time to add tannin is after you've tasted it after fermentation. I've only had one batch that I thought needed to have some tannin added because it needed a little "something" but mostly I've never used it. We have some mead experts that will be along shortly to set you straight if I'm incorrect.

Everything I have read says add tannin to the primary. The problem I have with this is how do you know how much to use. The guy at my homebrew shop says when he uses fresh juice (as I do) and not a kit he adds it to taste before bottling. I did however receive a suggestion if you add it late, do it at a racking and let it sit for at least 6 weeks before bottling. No matter what you do you will still have wine and we all learn from our mistakes, Ken

I've used tannin in primary, and later to taste. You need very, very little. So add it sparingly and wait about a day to see if it's enough. I've added as little as 1/8 teaspoon to 5 gallons of apple wine. It provides a little "bite" lacking in some fruit wines. Too much is worse than none at all.