Adjust or don’t adjust?

[Ajmassa]

Ok. I’ve got my cab from last fall. Sitting at about 6 months now.
Dry, mlf complete and aging

Tweaked down ph at crush a little. But didn’t make a dent. Currently sitting at 3.98. With a TA of 4.8

But it tastes good. It’s come a LONG way in just 6 months. The taste does not reflect the numbers.
Would you adjust down?

 

[cmason1957]

I think I would do a bench trial, try to get it down to at least 3.7 or so and see how it tastes at that. Maybe do a full bottle of each and let it sit for a little bit to integrate before making a decision. You probably want to mix up the tasters and then have someone else put them into glasses and give them to you blind.

 

[Ajmassa]

I think I would do a bench trial, try to get it down to at least 3.7 or so and see how it tastes at that. Maybe do a full bottle of each and let it sit for a little bit to integrate before making a decision. You probably want to mix up the tasters and then have someone else put them into glasses and give them to you blind.

Ugh. Not the answer I was lookin for! Lol

I know man. 3.98pH /4.8 TA is way low. I just hate the idea of adding a bunch of tartaric to it at this point. But you’re right. I’ll play with it. I just need to be super careful. I don’t wanna mess with a good thing. Thanks for the reply

 

[ibglowin]

Guess you didn't see this post.......

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/whats-in-your-glass-tonight.42950/page-239#post-720894

Just because the numbers are not "textbook" perfect does not mean you can't make a freaking excellent wine.

Ok. I’ve got my cab from last fall. Sitting at about 6 months now.
Dry, mlf complete and aging

Tweaked down ph at crush a little. But didn’t make a dent. Currently sitting at 3.98. With a TA of 4.8

But it tastes good. It’s come a LONG way in just 6 months. The taste does not reflect the numbers.
Would you adjust down?

 

[Ajmassa]

Guess you didn't see this post.......

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/whats-in-your-glass-tonight.42950/page-239#post-720894

Just because the numbers are not "textbook" perfect does not mean you can't make a freaking excellent wine.

Wow. Thanks for posting that. I knew that some commercial wines finished higher— but also know that keeping em that way is not standard practices for us hobbyists.

You think there’s any extra preventative measures taken they do for extra high ph wines that we’re unaware of? Aside from the higher so2 ppm.
Between adjusting a couple samples, blending with a little something, and/or riding as is — my outlook went from pessimistic to optimistic. I’ve got about 23 gal the play with.

 

[cmason1957]

I suppose I should have added that after the bench trials I suggested you may decide to leave it alone. Taste is the important thing not some made up numbers.

 

[Ajmassa]

I suppose I should have added that after the bench trials I suggested you may decide to leave it alone. Taste is the important thing not some made up numbers.

Luckily I have enough of the cab and other wines on deck to be able to do a little of everything if needed— in case there’s not a clear cut best option after some adjustment & blending trials. And then I could get a nice 1st hand opportunity to see how the high ph ages in comparison.

 

[Johnd]

@Ajmassa5983 , several cabs in my cellar were bottled in the 3.9x’s, even after bench trials. Don’t be intimidated by the numbers, just go with your taste buds, adjust the sulfite appropriately, and bottle it.

 

[mainshipfred]

Pre fermentation I may adjust depending how out of wack they are. Afterwards I only use numbers as a reference or the benchmark of a suitable bench trial. I also do bench trials for tannin content.

 

[Ajmassa]

If I end up leaving the cab be, it actually presents me with another decision.

Have yet to bottle my grape wines in almost 2 years. 4 diff 20gal+ batches. One wine continues to be a troublemaker: a ‘17 Tuscan field blend.
It is so incredibly “boring”- just blah. But after blend trials I found it works fantastic as a base.

You already know the question.

Would you sacrifice a portion of the solid wines (cab, Malbec, & possibly “family” red) to improve the boring Tuscan ?
Goes against tho ol adage: don’t turn ‘great’ wine into ‘good’ wine. I dunno. I’m reluctant. What would you do?

 

[CDrew]

What would you do?

Put it in a bottle and drink it up on weeknights.

 

[ibglowin]

The question is why is it boring? Is it lack of acid or tannin? What was the mix of grapes? 2 years really is just the start of a wine's life really. It could develop and come around all on its own if given more time.

One wine continues to be a troublemaker: a ‘17 Tuscan field blend.
It is so incredibly “boring”- just blah.

 

[Ajmassa]

Put it in a bottle and drink it up on weeknights.

Maybe for a portion of it, yeah. But wouldn’t want too much. Would sit forever. (I highly doubt it will improve much with age)
It’s hard to describe how boring it actually is.
You ever mess with finishing tannin?

 

[mainshipfred]

On a scale of 1-10 my taste buds are probably a 3 or 4 so I can't confirm. I was told a blah wine sometimes a lacks a mid palate sensation and without a mid palate the end suffers. Tannin Estate is supposed to enhance the mid palate sensation. I've been experimenting with it but have only used about 1/4 the recommended maximum amount and that was only 4 weeks ago. It does seem to help though.

 

[pgentile]

If the cab tastes good, I wouldn't touch it. It's not that far off. I also wouldn't sacrifice some good wine to prop up a mediocre wine unless it made a better wine than both individual wines.

All three of my australian juice buckets(cab, syrah, grenache) were mediocre blended they made a pretty good wine. Blend the mediocre with something else mediocre that fills whats missing. If you have nothing to blend with you could drop off here, give it to me, and I'll figure out something to blend.

Has it spent any time in the barrel?

 

[Donz]

I wouldn't touch it if it tastes good. No need to fix something that isn't broken.

 

[4score]

With regrards to the high-pH wine, I would leave it be since you like it. The potential in post-fermentation to negatively affect the wine is not worth the risk. I have done tartaric adjustments during pre-fermentation, when it's safe, but after ferm is just too risky for me. I find that many times with post-fermentation tartaric additions, the acidity doesn't integrate - it's like I can taste the acid separate from the wine itself. Hard to describe.

With the "boring" wine. Don't try using up your great-tasting wine. I think you'll be ultimately disappointed. Just bottle it and put it away for a couple more years. My 2 cents.

 

[porkchopmessiah]

Side question, how often you guys calibrating your meters?

 

[cmason1957]

Side question, how often you guys calibrating your meters?

I check it almost every time I pull it out to use it. By putting it into the 4.01 solution. If it reads the correct value, I just use it. If it is off, I calibrate it.

 

[porkchopmessiah]

If I end up leaving the cab be, it actually presents me with another decision.

Have yet to bottle my grape wines in almost 2 years. 4 diff 20gal+ batches. One wine continues to be a troublemaker: a ‘17 Tuscan field blend.
It is so incredibly “boring”- just blah. But after blend trials I found it works fantastic as a base.

You already know the question.

Would you sacrifice a portion of the solid wines (cab, Malbec, & possibly “family” red) to improve the boring Tuscan ?
Goes against tho ol adage: don’t turn ‘great’ wine into ‘good’ wine. I dunno. I’m reluctant. What would you do?

You had me at 4 diff 20 gallon batches...then I blacked out