Why You Might Need Acid Blend When Making Fruit Wines

Wines that are enjoyable to drink are those that are in balance with acidity, tannin and sweetness. Professional grape winemakers often have to make adjustments to their juices before and during the fermenting process in order to attain the balance they are desiring for the wine they are making.

Home winemakers that ferment the juice of low acid fruit such as pears, apricots and blueberries might end up with a wine that may taste good but lacks something to be wonderful. If the wine you’ve made has no or not enough tartness, acid blend might be the answer to improving it the next time. Often, juices that are low in acid do not ferment well, and the resulting wine may have a medicinal taste to it.

Most home winemaking supply shops will carry acid blend. Usually, these blends contain about 1 part citric acid, 2 parts malic acid, and 3 parts tartaric acid. Let’s have a closer look at each one of these:

Tartaric Acid

Tartaric acid is included in many sour tasting sweets and candies, and is found in fruit such as grapes and bananas. Along with malic acid, it is one of the major acids in grape wines and helps to lower the pH level which inhibits bacterial growth.

Malic Acid

Malic acid is found in apples, apricots, grapes, dark cherries and rhubarb. It provides the tart "green apple" type of sensation. In 1785, it was isolated from apple juice and a name proposed for it was acide malique – malique being derived from the Latin word malum which means ’apple’. In some wines where there is too much malic acid present, winemakers will start a "malolactic fermentation" by adding lactic acid bacteria to the wine. This bacteria convert the malic acid to lactic acid.

Citric Acid

Citric acid is found in primarily in citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, but is also in currants and raspberries. It helps to add fruitiness to the wine’s flavors. Because of this quality, some winemakers will routinely add citric acid to most of their wines, and often this acid is the only type used by them.

As you become more acquainted with the use of acids and their effects on fermentation and flavor, you may want to experiment with the different acids and vary the amounts you use. For now however, consider a general rule of thumb to add about 2 teaspoons (about 10 grams) of acid blend per gallon of wine you are making. Add a little more to wines using fruit that are especially low in acid content.

At the time of this writing, 1 pound (454 grams) costs between five and seven dollars at home winemaking supply shops – so it is an inexpensive way of making your fruit wines just that much better!