Reducing astringency

I am starting two batches of quince mead this week, using fresh-pressed juice. For the first, I simmered the juice for an hour hoping to change the color to red and to reduce the astringency. The color change happened beautifully, and the flavor/acid profile is very nice, but it is still mouth-puckering. Letting it sit with a double dose of pectic enzyme now, and will add honey and yeast later today.

For those with experience fermenting chokecherries/persimmons/quince/etc.:

1. Does fermentation reduce astringency?

2. If not, have you had luck with gelatin/eggwhite fining to bind and precipitate tannins?

Given that my simmering seems to have accomplished only a color change, while stripping some of the more volatile floral aromas, I am going to try only a mild pasteurizing heating with the next batch, and will see how the two compare.

Mark

I will let you know how it goes. I'm not sure why cooking the fruit eliminates the astringency while boiling the juice does not have the same effect. Perhaps the proteins that the tannins react with are present in the pulp but not the juice?

From what I have read PVPP is better for removing small, bitter tannins while gelatin and eggwhite are better for large, astringent tannins. Eggwhite does sound like an excessive pain (and possibly unsanitary), and it appears that gelatin is equally effective.