Muscadine wine acid test help

[Ret Teacher19]

Newbie here-- Results of my acid test on my muscadine must is .40% tartaric (used 4cc of Sodium Hydroxide). Does this sound right for muscadine? I was expecting very acidic. I don't have a ph meter but used a test strip (2.8-4.4 range) and it didn't match any color on the scale. What do I need to do?? Am I good to go ahead and pitch the yeast, or do I need to add something. I have 5.5 gallons in my primary now.

 

[shelly_belly]

That sounds low for muscadines. Is this straight juice or was water added?

 

[Ret Teacher19]

That sounds low for muscadines. Is this straight juice or was water added?

Water was added. I have the muscadine in the must. I am going by Jack Keller's Muscadine Wine #2 recipe.

 

[shelly_belly]

You may want to test again. Make sure the must is stirred well. I usually get .65 to .70 with that recipe. You should go ahead and continue the ferment though. You can adjust the acid level at the end which is what I usually do. I use the Noble varietal muscadine. I know there are some varietals with much lower acidity.

 

[jonereb]

I've been making muscadine wine for 5 or 6 years. The past few years, I have been pitching a tsp of Calcium Carbonate during fermentation, which brings my acidity level to about .60. I use a titration kit, which isn't easy to judge with red wines. Before bottling, I check acidity again to see if anything changed. I opened a bottle of my 2017 wine last night. It has a slight bite, probably because the alcohol level is 12%. Otherwise tasted fine.

 

[Gidget]

Acid should be between 6.0 to 7.5 should probably add some acid blend to up it. Vintners has a acid testing kit pretty inexpensive will walk you through testing. Takes some time, testing and retesting.