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Fall Bright has been providing winemaking supplies, grapes, juices (plus brewing supplies) for amateur winemakers for over 20 years. An old grape packing house provides a home
for Fall Bright.
Acid reduction with water
We recommend NO MORE than a 15% use of water with hybrids and 0-10% with Vinifera. American varieties have more flavors and can tolerate a higher use of water. Some years
Catawba can be used with equal parts of water to cut the acid and yes, it will be thinner in body, but still have the flavor of that variety.
Total acidity is expressed as a % tartaric acid
TA = % tartaric acid
If the original TA is 1.15% and you desire to ameliorate (to add water) to reduce the TA to .75%, use the following equations:
1.15% of 128 oz (one gallon) = .75% of X
(.75% of X, being the TA of X, the new total volume)
.0115 x (times) 128 = .0075X
1.472 = .0075X
196.267 = X
196 oz is the desired total volume
-128 original volume of 1.15% TA juice (-minus)
68 oz of water required
If you are ameliorating a Catawba, Niagara, or other flavorful varieties this volume of water would probably be ok.
We recommend NO MORE than a 15% use of water with hybrids and 0-10% with Vinifera.
Do taste trials. We ameliorated a 2009
Traminette with 25% water, in spite of our recommendations. It still had
enough acid to balance a sweet finish.
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