OOPSIE Orange Apple Help Me

[Caz]

A few weeks ago I spontaneously decided to make apple wine from juice concentrate I had bought beforehand. Problem was it was around 10:30 PM and I had already had several glasses of wine, and I failed to notice that half of the juice I bought was actually orange juice! The cans were the exact same colour! Lol. So I ended up with three gallons of half apple apple half orange must.

I racked it the other day and DAYUMMM is it acidic! Of course it is, it's got orange juice in it . I'm thinking the only way to salvage this is to backsweeten it. Has anyone used honey with good results on an acidic batch of whatever?

 

[Seamonkey84]

If your not doing a titration test, then 1/4tsp potassium carbonate per gallon can off set the ph some without adding noticeable flavor. But I usually add that in the beginning to help the yeast along. As for using honey to sweeten it, that works well and adds a bit of mouth feel. The ancient orange mead is very popular so that might work out.

 

[Caz]

Thanks for the response, seamonkey. I racked it several days ago, and I'm not sure what you mean by titration? I've made Mead a few times and honey is my favourite sweetener, so that's what I'm leaning towards. Since this was a screw up batch that I don't intend on duplicating I haven't taken notes beyond the initial ingredients, lol.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Titration tests show much acid is in your product vs checking ph. However other than for correcting using alkaline products, you don’t have to if your must fermented all the way. Just sweeten to taste. Of course, if it’s not at alcohol tolerance yet, it’ll start fermenting again unless you clear and stabilize first.

 

[Caz]

Oh, I see. It fermented dry, now it's just sitting in a carboy.

 

[bernardsmith]

My first attempts at making an orange wine used orange juice and the wine was so bitter that I was not able to do very much with it except blend it with a wine made with cocoa nibs and even then I avoided drinking this for years. I am not sure that simply back sweetening wines made with OJ rescues them... The only way I now make orange wine is with the zest of oranges and not the juice. Try blending this batch with a batch of wine that you think might complement the orange flavor. (or perhaps simply add the wine (in small quantities - say 1 unit of the wine to 2 or 3 units of vodka) to some sweetened vodka to make your version if Triple Sec...

 

[Seamonkey84]

Of course you can also try blending it with a sweet mead and see if it taste anything like a JAOM

 

[Caz]

Good idea to blend it with something! I also thought maybe mulling it with honey and spices would work. I've got three gallons to experiment with, might as well.