Are green BC grapes too acidic for wine?

Discussion in 'Grapes and Grape Vines' started by Thomas Anonymous, Oct 31, 2007.

  1. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    Some friends tried to make wine from their homegrown grapes last year but because it didn't work out well, they were going to throw their grapes out this year so I offered to try it. As you can see in the attached pictures, they are green. They have seeds.

    My question is this: Given that these grapes are from BC and possibly not completely ripe (at least there are a few that aren't fully ripe), are they unsuitable for winemaking due to too high acid levels? They taste really tart. From what I've been googling about winemaking, it's easy to artificially increase acidity but complicated to reduce it.

    Also, although this is more of a winemaking question than a grape-culture question, how about if I mixed the grapes with some other kind of low-acid fruit and made cider from it --- do you think that might work?
     

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  2. Scubaman2151

    Scubaman2151 Member

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    What do you mean by BC grapes?

    Scuba
     
  3. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    Grapes that were grown in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), is what I mean by, "BC grapes". Sometimes we don't get much sunshine, depending on exactly where in the province they're grown.
    I ended up dumping the wine I tried to make from this batch because the pH was too acidic and the sugar level was just plain too low.
    Oh well.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2008
  4. Scubaman2151

    Scubaman2151 Member

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    Grapes are not usually classified as to where they are grown, grapes are grown by what grapes they produce. Like where I live concord grapes are the most grown one, but where your at you may be producing vinifera grapes. Post that picture of the grapes here again and see if someone can identify them.

    Scuba
     
  5. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    It's a moot point now. They went down the drain months ago. I started a vine last summer and trimmed it back and everything --- might get some grapes from it this year. I put it by a fence so it'll get reflected sunlight. Our winters are mild here, but summers not very hot because we're close to the ocean. I just want to make a wine from grapes that I grew. Chateau 7500, 145 Street. lol
     
  6. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    You could always add some sugar - might be considered cheating by a purist winemaker, but it does get done by some.
     
  7. Scubaman2151

    Scubaman2151 Member

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    Adding sugar wouldnt really change the acid of the juice, more sugar just increases the final alchoal content of the wine.

    After checking with some people about your acid problem here is what I came up with:

    "Several ways,more popular being add more water diluting the acid down, or add Calcium Carbonate, testing frequently until desired level reached."

    So when you get grapes in the fall, pick them, crush them and test the juice. You will need a acid testing kit for this and then you can try either option mentioned above.

    Scuba
     
  8. jimmyq

    jimmyq Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    my father in law is a wine nut, he grows a few vines in his backyard in squamish but thats just for the birds to eat, the wine grapes he gets from Spagnols, through the crusher, add some yeast, ferment twice then in the barrels for a year then in to the bottle. good stuff. :)
     

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