Adjusting Levels

[idiggy]

Hello
Just starting a Gewurztraminer wine .
Fresh juice
Brix at 19.9
Ph at 3.47
Acid at 6.9
Would anyone be making adjustments to this must ?
Thanks

 

[Tim3]

You’ll need to add Tartaric acid and potentially sugar. How many gallons of juice did you buy? And are you planning on making a fully dry wine?

 

[idiggy]

It's 6 gallons of fresh juice .
Yes it would be a dry wine

 

[Tim3]

So all you’d need to add is 50 grams tartaric acid then. You’ll end up with a wine at 11.4% alcohol and a PH of 3.32. It’s on the low end of alcohol for a gewurtz, but still in line. Don’t forget about nutrients and sulfites at the appropriate stages though!

 

[salcoco]

I would add sugar to 22 brix no acid at this time wait until wine is clear post fermentation do taste tests and then make any adjustments that may be required numbers are fine now for fermentation.

 

[Tim3]

If you take salcoco’s suggestion that would be 2.5 cups cane sugar to raise the brix by 2.1. You’d have a 12.5% wine, which is more typical of gewurzt. Anything between 20 - 24 brix is common for that varietal.

 

[idiggy]

Thank You for your advice

 

[winemaker81]

@idiggy, if this is confusing you, consider that there is more than 1 valid answer to most winemaking questions -- both @Tim3 and @salcoco have good suggestions.

If it was me? I'd bump the brix to 22. I like a starting SG around 1.085-1.090 (up to 1.100 for reds).

Acid is a more difficult question, as many factors affect the final taste. Bumping up acid before fermentation is often recommended, but you need to be cautious, as reducing acid later is more difficult and may produce less desirable results. Bumping acid after fermentation works fine, but IME takes longer -- add less acid than you believe you need, mix well, and let the wine set a week for the acid to integrate before tasting.

 

[idiggy]

Thanks for your help
Trying this method of wine making usually I just buy the pails pre done and ferment .

I also have a Merlot and Cab Sauv I will be picking up . Is there a chart for brix , ph , ta for the different grapes .Or all reds and whites are fall within a range .

 

[Tim3]

Thanks for your help
Trying this method of wine making usually I just buy the pails pre done and ferment .

I also have a Merlot and Cab Sauv I will be picking up . Is there a chart for brix , ph , ta for the different grapes .Or all reds and whites are fall within a range .

I had the same question and did quite a bit of research to create this chart. The brix range represents starting brix, while the PH numbers represent ideal finished PH's. Keep in mind you don't want to turn your wine into a chemistry experiment and over adjusting to hit numbers will create clumsy wine. My rule of thumb is a max adjustment of 0.42 for PH on reds and 0.32 on whites. But it's all an art, so the style is up to you. The berry size just helps you understand finished wine volumes relative to starting must volume.

 

[idiggy]

Thanks for sharing