acid testing

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martimb

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In my 2013 muscadine wine batches, all had a tartaric acid content ranging from ".65 to .8". I tested the batches late in the process when the wine had cleared and was nearly ready to bottle.

This year I tested for tartaric acid at the beginning - while in the primary prior to adding any nutrients or yeast. In my 5 batches thus far in 2014, the acid content has ranged from ".45 to .5". I don't understand why there is such a big difference, unless it has something to do with the timing of the tests. I used the exact same testing method as the year before. Don't muscadines normally have a high acid content?

Any comments?
 
yes they normally do but there are a lot of variables that you need to consider. The weather and when you picked all contribute to what the brix and acid would be. The muscadines I received this year are lower in acid that the previous year's.
 
Just for the record, TA stands for titratable acidity not tartaric acid. In grapes there are several different acids present including tartaric acid. I know this seems a bit picky but it is an important difference.
 
Test it again before you bottle as you did before, then you may see it rise. I noticed that TA jumps higher after fermentation quite a bit. Anyone else?
 
It does because dissolved co2 is carbonic acid which is detected in the titratable acidity test.
 
Just for the record, TA stands for titratable acidity not tartaric acid. In grapes there are several different acids present including tartaric acid. I know this seems a bit picky but it is an important difference.

Thanks for pointing that out, I totally missed that.
 
Did you test for ph? I never made muscadine but I am assuming you should balance the ph and TA. Chance is your acid could be a little high but your ph is low.
 
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