Will Tart Wine Smooth Out Over Time?

[jonereb]

I'm about ready to bottle a gallon carboy of plum wine. When I back sweetened a week ago today, the wine tasted a little tart. I didn't taste after adding sugar. Will it smooth out over a year of two of aging, which is how long I intend to wait?

 

[Yooper]

I'm about ready to bottle a gallon carboy of plum wine. When I back sweetened a week ago today, the wine tasted a little tart. I didn't taste after adding sugar. Will it smooth out over a year of two of aging, which is how long I intend to wait?

Maybe. Sometimes the wine will taste sweeter in the bottle also and that can counteract the tartness.

It can depend on what's causing the tartness. If it's excess acidity, it could even drop out in the form of "wine diamonds" when aged long term. I'd probably keep it in a carboy in a cool place for two or month months, just to ensure that happens in a carboy instead of in the bottle, but it's not a big deal either way.

 

[brewgeek]

There are two things that can make wine "tart". Acids and tannins. I don't think your plum wine is overly tannic like a heavy red grape wine so that probably isn't. I would say that the problem is acids. Did you put your wine in a fridge for a few weeks to see if you can make the acid fall out of solution? This will result in acid crystals falling out of solution and settling in the bottom. Then bottle after that happens.

But to answer your question, yes wines tends to mellow after sometime in the bottle as these acids tend to "mellow" but only to a certain extent.

 

[jonereb]

I haven't refrigerated. But since I'm basically done with gases, I could cap the gallon carboy and refrigerate for a while. Won't fit with the airlock in place.

 

[bernardsmith]

Do you have a kit to measure TA or a pH meter?

 

[jonereb]

I don't have either.

 

[jgmillr1]

You best course is to sweeten the wine to your taste preference. Tartness of the wine is from its acidity and the right balance of sweet&sour is personal.

The other way to achieve balance is by lowering the acidity through addition of potassium bicarbonate or similar agent. In your case, I do not recommend this course since you do not have a pH meter and won't be able to tell if you drive the pH too high, which increases the risk of spoilage/oxidation.

Cooling plum wine may not result in potassium bitartrate precipitation (aka wine diamonds). You need a sufficient concentration of tartaric acid in the wine for this to occur. While grapes are loaded with tartaric, the primary acid in plums is malic which will not form insoluble salts and precipitate. Of course if you added an acid blend in your recipe, that will change the acid mix.