It’s a fact that the sugar and acid levels are 2 of the key elements of creating a good batch and so any adjustments to the process are based on those tests. As you are already aware, the sugar level of your wine is incredibly important as the yeast must feed on it to create the alcohol. The amount of sugar you use will determine the amount of alcohol that will be in the final batch but in order to run these tests you will need a hydrometer.
The hydrometer gives you the ability to accurately test as well as measure the sugar that is contained in the juice and the amount of alcohol that can come from the sugar. Because of that you will also be able to measure how much additional sugar you may need to put into the juice.
A hydrometer is essentially a glass tube that contains a weight that will float in water. Sugar levels are tested by reading how low or high it floats at in any hydrometer a scale on them to help provide a reading for the Potential Alcohol content. The scale is readable when you first start the fermentation process to determine whether you need to add additional sugar which really depends on how much alcohol content that you want to be present in the final wine.
If you decide that you should alter the sugar level to increase the amout on alcohol you probably want to know what sort of sugar you should use. You need to keep in mind that every type of sugar will exhibit very different characteristics. [Corn sugar and cane sugar are usually the cheapest] and the most widely available, however, there is certainly nothing stopping you from trying other sugar if you can.
You’ll need to try and possibly adjust the acid level. Bear in mind that a proper acid level will provide your wine with balance and character and help with the fermentation because it’s important that your remember that acidity varies from one fruit to another.
The best way you can test acidity is through the use of a titration kit, which will help you determine how the wine will actually taste. For example, if there is too much acid the end result will be bitter whereas, if it does not have a sufficient acid content, it’ll be flash. By utilizing what you’ve just read, you will know whether or not you should modify the acidity level of your wine. If you find that you require to make adjustments you can accomplish it using one of three different fruit acids: citric, tartaric and malic fruit acids.
Some methods of changing the flavor of the wine when bottling it include mixing it with other wines, incorporating spices, or oak chips, body enhances or flavor enhances. You could also fortify your wine with something such as simple grain alcohol. The best rule to adhere to upon doing the last minute tweaking is to ensure that you adjust in small amounts, so pretty much, always experiment with small amounts and never the full batch.
Tags: Wine, drink, Food, Wine
