Raspberry wine acidity

[Mallerstang]

I started a batch of raspberry wine in early August, and just racked it for the second time in mid November. It's an odd-sized batch that should yield 8-9 bottles. Here's the ingredients, with starting SG of 1.092:

4.25 kg raspberries from my garden
2 kg sugar
4.9 litres water
K meta, yeast nutrient and pectic as usual
1/2 tsp acid blend
EC-1118 yeast

Now it's nearly clear, beautiful red colour and promising flavour, but it's too acid. I know, I added some acid blend on purpose - I was following a recipe that actually called for much more. The raspberries did seem more sour than usual this year. Lesson learned.

I measured TA with the kit. I still find it difficult to see the colour changes with deep red wine but I think TA is around 10. Jack Keller's site suggests TA of 5-6 for non-grape red wines.

Any suggestions what I should do to make this drinkable? I've considered aging it and hoping for the best; using calcium carbonate; and brewing up a batch of less-acid banana or mango wine or something like that to blend it with.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Mallerstang - and welcome. I would blend this. Not sure how easy it is to drop TA by 4 points.
The thing is recipes are generally nonsense. Wine making is not like beer where everything (more or less) is added to the boil or the mash. With wine you add such things as acid only as you need it. And your fruit this year may be VERY different from the fruit that was used by the writer of the recipe. Yeast (for all intents and purposes) does not need acidity to do its job. Acidity is all about taste - and the TA and pH of your wines will change as the yeast does its job. Just before bottling is the time to add any acidity and you do that by taste and not because of the recipe.
I may be a contrarian but the secret of good wine making is NOT about following a recipe. It's all about mastering processes and protocols. If you know why you are doing what you are doing and you know how to do what you want to do (and you start with excellent raw materials) then your wines will be delicious. If you simply follow a recipe you will invariably find yourself in a difficult position.
And apologies for this LONG post but there is a very easy way to measure the TA. Rather than using the color indicator which , as you rightly say, is a rel challenge when you are working with red wines (it's a real challenge anyway IMO) use your pH meter. Add enough NaOH to hit a pH of 8.2. THAT is the reading at which the color change takes place. Much easier to read off 8.2 than it is to decide whether the color has changed

 

[lukebuz]

Forget the testing, man. How does it taste? My crabapple wine acidity is off the charts, but everyone finds it delicious!

 

[Mallerstang]

Forget the testing, man. How does it taste? My crabapple wine acidity is off the charts, but everyone finds it delicious!

Um - it tastes promising, like a bit raw but it will improve with age, but far too acidic. Also it upsets my tummy and makes me worry about my teeth.

 

[Mallerstang]

... I would blend this. Not sure how easy it is to drop TA by 4 points ... there is a very easy way to measure the TA ... use your pH meter ...

Thanks Bernard - pH meter going forward, and blending for this lot, is the plan now.

Does anyone have ideas for a lower-acid wine I can make for that purpose? I was thinking perhaps banana or mango-pulp, but not sure how low (i.e. how high of a pH) I can go with the acidity.

 

[bernardsmith]

The issue may not be so much the pH as the TA. pH simply tells you how strong acids in the wine are. TA indicates how much acid there is. (and obviously, you can have a lot of weak acids and a little of strong acids etc etc) . The pH is not about taste. TA is. If the wine TASTES too acidic (not that the numbers appear to be too high (TA) or low (pH) ) then you want to blend this with a wine with a TA that is way too low (the wine is too bland).