Rhubarb Wine Question

Winemaking
1

I just made 6 weeks ago a batch of Rhubarb wine for the first time:

15lb rhubarb frozen and 2 inch stalks
12.5lbs sugar
Cote de Blanc
Pectic Enzyme
1.091

1 day with 5 camden tablets (5 gallon batch) 10 days fermentation on the fruit knocking down the cap daily. Racked at 1.040. Racked again 2 weeks (today) after fermenting to 0.995.

My question is after fermentation ended and racking, the raw wine has very good flavor but sharp bite. Will this sharpness fade or do I need to add calcium carbonate? I was thinking of adding 2 oz medium toast oak chips for 2 weeks to round the flavor profile. Also thinking of back sweetening to 1.005. I am open to any ideas and advice. Thanks!

2

Young fruit wines can be quite harsh, but the precipitated chalk would be a good idea in a rhubarb wine. You are picking up on the oxalic acid that is present in the rhubarb and it can be quite tart. I would also backsweeten as well. Sounds like your on the right track.