Acid Testing Juice for Homemade Wine

These instructions relate to the pictured acid testing kit (also known as an Acid Titration Kit) sold on our website at http://www.bluestemwine.com/. Click on the photo to take you directly to this product on our website.

The contents of the package include a one ounce vial of Color Indicator Solution, a four ounce vial of Sodium Hydroxide Solution, one 25cc syringe and one 30cc plastic cup. The liquid contents of this kit are poisonous.

Draw a 15cc sample of the liquid to be tested with the syringe. Make sure no bubbles remain in the syringe. Place this sample in the plastic cup.

Add two droplets of the Indicator Solution to the cup and swirl the cup to disburse the droplets.

Using the syringe, draw 10cc of the Sodium Hydroxide Solution. Again, make sure that there are no air bubbles present.

Using the syringe, add one drop at a time of the Sodium Hydroxide Solution to the cup of liquid with the juice/wine and indicator solution in it. After each drop you should swirl the cup to disburse the Sodium Hydroxide. When making white wine the adding of a drop of Sodium Hydroxide will color the liquid pink. When you swirl the cup the pink will disappear (when making red wine the liquid will turn black and when you swirl it will go back to a red/purple color). Continue adding the droplets and swirling each time until the pink (black) coloration is permanent. You will notice that as you approach the permanent coloration it will take more swirls to eliminate the pink (black) coloration.

If you have trouble with seeing the color change in your red wine you can add distilled water (40cc) to the wine sample. Dilution of your wine/juice will not affect the test results. When doing this the color change you are looking for is to a green or purple color.

Testing your sample multiple times will give you a better feel for the accuracy of your test. You should average the test results to draw your conclusion. Be sure to thoroughly rinse your test equipment in between each test.

After completing your testing make the necessary corrections to your wine/juice to obtain the proper acid levels. Test liquids should NOT be returned to your wine/juice but should be disposed of.

Rinse out your test equipment thoroughly prior to storage. Keep solutions tightly capped. The shelf life on each solution is about 12 months so dispose of these as appropriate.

FYI: One teaspoon of acid (tartaric, malic, citric, acid blend) added to one gallon of wine/juice will increase your acid level by approximately .15%.

Optimum acid levels for wine are:

Fruit wines: .50 to .60%
Red wines: .55 to .65%
White wines: .70 to .80%

Questions? We respond to e-mails addressed to bluestemwine@mchsi.com or you can contact us through our website at http://www.bluestemwine.com/. Happy wine making!!