Study on the Deacidification of Wine Made from Campbell Early

The domestic grape cultivar Campbell Early has high levels of both malic acid and tartaric acid. Therefore, the processing of wine made from Campbell Early must include decreasing the acidity. Six different methods were tested for reducing excess acidity: traditional vinification, precipitation, cold stabilization, malolactic fermentation (MLF), carbonic maceration and cold fermentation. Wines had higher pH values and lower total acidity than control after all the processing methods except cold stabilization. With regard to the measured organic acid content, the control contained 2,927 ppm tartaric acid, 2,421 ppm malic acid and 486 ppm lactic acid, but the precipitated wine contained 2,346 ppm tartaric acid. The MLF wine contained 828 ppm malic acid and 2,394 ppm lactic acid. Wine after carbonic maceration contained 792 ppm malic acid and cold fermentation decreased the organic acid contents in general. Sensory analysis showed that the carbonic maceration and precipitation methods resulted in wines that were excellent in color, flavor, taste and overall preference.