Beginner's diary - Shiraz making

[Obelix]

As per Ajmassa advice I added a bit of Tartaric Acid to the non-MLF-ed wine.
Tried a sip before and it tastes more astringent than the MLFed wine. I now understand the difference better and will MLF the lot next year.
The PH was checked at 3.9 and I added 20g of Tartaric acid
(0.4g per litre) - being on the cautious side.
As I added the crystals into a half a glass of wine - there was an instant change in the colour.

So 100g of Tartaric acid in the supermarket is $2.75.
100g in the brew shop is $8.
Go figure...

 

[Ajmassa]

No TA check? Just to make sure it’s not out of whack. And New ph? Should be able to recheck rather quickly and And also notice a taste difference.
Just Don’t add any more! Acid adjustments are serious business. Too easy to overcorrect then over overcorrect again.
Do you use a scale? You can do a bench trial on sample amount to gauge ph movement and taste.

 

[Obelix]

Haven't realised the Ph change would reflect so quickly. Will check tomorrow.
Various articles recommend 1g per litre to reduce the Ph by 0.1.
Given the Ph was 3.9, I should be adding 3g per litre - 150 grams.
Adding 0.4g per litre seemed conservative. (?)

 

[Ajmassa]

Just want to pass this info along.
Winemakers in California will add tartaric to the must. Much easier to dial in ph before AF. And let’s the fermentation help to integrate everything together.
I’ve read the magic number to shoot for is 3.63 ph. As winter sets in and temps drop salt tartrates will crash out of the wine. Forming crystals at the bottom of the vessel. When a ph is below 3.65 - the tartrate crystals dropping will cause ph to drop as well as TA. When ph above 3.65 the tartrate crystals dropping with RAISE ph and lower TA.
So if under 3.65 and dropping more will help stabelize the wine as time passes. But if over 3.65 and rising as tartrates drop? Less stable. So2 less effective requiring more so2 protection.
So they will adjust the must and only very slight adjustments later if needed.
Now I’m still learning all of this but after my own mistakes I personally think it is better to have a slightly higher ph than to add >.5 g/L to the wine later on.
Many good commercial wines have higher ph too. Not suggesting anything. Just passing along info.

 

[Obelix]

While reading up on this, I realised it's usually added into the must.
I didn't know that, and didn't have the Ph meter either - so my options are limited to adding (or not) now.

What made me action this is a big difference in the amount of sulfite required with the Ph of 4.0 as opposed to 3.6.

I'll see how this develops and will form an opinion on whether to add it to the must next year.
The MLF-ed wine tastes really good - so already decided to MLF the lot next year.
Also if the MLF ed wine taste stays good I'll avoid adding anything and will try to control the maturing through sterilisation, the head space and minimal addition if sulfites.

My first batch ever - so learning a lot.

 

[Ajmassa]

Without a science background and this just being a hobby- learning and *retaining all the wine chemistry can be a little much.
One thing I can say with confidence is that as soon as you think “I got this” and feel like your JoePro Winemaker- the wine gods throw you a curveball and knock you off tilt.

 

[Obelix]

Ha, ha...true.
The Ph of the non-MLF wine seems the same - the taste now has a slight lemony ting. So, haven't really achieved much. Will stay away from the chemsitry from now on

Also, finally properly tasted this non-MLF wine - and (apart from the lemony taste I introduced) decided it's inferior to the MLF-ed wine so will try to inoculate V41 bacteria and improve it. .
Have about a gram left, and will add it in.
It may not survive - given I added sulphites 3 weeks ago, but I added a minimal amount so it just may,
Boy, am I learning for the next year

Edit:
Added bacteria, and the head space filled with the MLF-ed wine - so to strengthen the bacteria.
Fingers crossed...

 

[Obelix]

Bottled this small batch of Grenache (a small mishandled batch- 20 litres) 10 days after adding the egg white and 2 days after adding tartaric acid.
The taste was poor so I use it as an experimental batch.

The egg white nicely clarified it to near-rose colour, and the Tartaric acid surprisingly improved the taste. Should further improve after refrigeration.

The Tartaric taste gives it a hint of chenin blanc - so I decided to stay away from the Tartaric in the rest of Shiraz.
All a very useful learning.

 

[Obelix]

So finally...the contents of the VCT transferred to two beer kegs.
So I now have 150L in three kegs, and probably another 10L in the VCT.
Well, from the original total volume, 6L was used as a juice, 6L was spent in "tasting" the progress and these 10L in the VCT will continue to be "Tasted"
So as John predicted originally, I'll end up with the original plan of 150L mature wine.

I can see the kegs already slowly bubbling.
Even the one I recently inoculated the MLF bacteria and which has some sulfites. .

Two slight concerns:

• The wine transfer to kegs exposed it to air. Can't add sulfites while the MLF si working.
  However, the wine is now in the kegs, filled to the brim and hopefully won't go off.
  
• Ph is 4.1 - it's high, but I'll leave it and cross my fingers.
  Possibly fine it in June to reduce the colour loss due to the low acidity. The finign may change the Ph. But still undecided - fine or not. May fine 10L as a test

So I think, that's it for the next 3 months. Won't touch it, taste it, open it...
A formal tasting will be mid, late June when I'll be either great, or a vinegar
I'll consider if it needs fining then.

Thank you all who helped me for your valuable input.
I'll "wake" you up in June to blame you if something went wrong or boast my wine making skills if it turns out OK

 

[Obelix]

 

[REDRUM]

Looking forward to hearing how it turns out Obelix!

 

[Obelix]

Finally !!! I "cracked open" the first barell - if one can "crack open" a beer keg

Must say mightily impressed by the outcome. I would gladly pay $20-$25 for such a wine in shops.
That is, the wine may be even better, however, I don't usually buy wine that expensive...
A friend help me bottle it and he was impressed. My wife too - and she is hard to impress.

A nice smell, a very rich taste, and a rich dark read colour. Don't know the alcohol level - I woudl estimate it to 13.5%.
Bought some yellow labels from Officeworx and marked the batch and "the bin".
Bottled about 15 bottles with corks, and the rest with the "Novatwist" screw-top.

Very happy with the outcome

One concern is the Ph - measured at 4.6 - I haven't used sulphites in the wine, except to sterilise the kegs and the bottles.
I'm not going to correct it - although thinking of adding sulphites into the remaining barells.

 

[cmason1957]

If it really is a pH of 4.6 it should be brought down. Normally a red wine will be at 3.6. That doesn't sound lie much of a difference, until you remember that the pH scale is logarithmic, so a change of 1 really means 10x. And your wine is 10x less acidic than normal. I don't have the SO2 charts in front of me, but it is going to take a bushel basket of sulphite to protect your wine.

That being said I wouldn't expect a wine with pH of 4.6 to taste all that great. I would imagine the taste to be quite lacking.

 

[mainshipfred]

I can't find a chart that goes up to 4.5 but at 4.0 the recommended SO2 is 125 ppm. Can't do the calculation without knowing the current SO2 but when I try to input the data it won't accept anything higher then 4.2 for the current Ph.

 

[Obelix]

Thanks Mainshipfriend.
I'll just add a minimal amount.
Added some acidity to one keg 3 mths ago and that keg is 0 1 ph more. Better not to play with chemistry this year around
Will add sone into the must next year.


And cmason
- regardless of the outcome, I'll add 5gm of sulphite per keg of 50L. 1/3 of the teaspoon and not more. Definitely not a bushel. If it goes off - so be it.
It will mostly be drunk through the year. 5 bottles I save for later...happy to risk it.

And about your comment that my wine is unlikely to be nice tasting...
Not sure what was on your mind when you wrote that. Condesendence?

My wine is not for sale. I get nothing from promoting bad wine.

I proved something here. A beginner can make a good wine by reading up and getting good advice from this forum.
And really, it only needs to taste nice to me anyway.

 

[sour_grapes]

I am not sure if this is what Craig had in mind, but this is the thought that leapt into my mind: If your wine tastes good, it probably means that your measurement of pH of 4.6 is probably not right. Your tongue is a pretty good meter . How are you measuring it (meter or strips)? Have you calibrated your meter?

Glad to hear your wine tastes good!

 

[Obelix]

Thanks Sour Grapes

It could be.
I bought a cheap digital PH meter on eBay and followed the calibration instructions.

Can't tell if the device is faulty, but it was high (4.0) as the secondary (MLF) commenced. Seemed to have increased in the last 3-4 months - used the same device. The only difference is the temperature. It's Winter now.

The taste itself improved. It was slightly fizzy 4 months ago and that is now gone.I added some Tartaric in one keg 3 mths ago - not much difference in ph - just feels slightly more tingy - maybe I'm imagining.

 

[cmason1957]

Yes, sorry I wasn't trying to be condescending, more questioning the pH reading. A wine of 4.6 (I am guessing) would taste totally lacking in everything. I am guessing you aren't getting a good reading. Can you purchase distilled water? It should read somewhere around 7.

 

[Ajmassa]

Calibrate the meter again and check everything. Water. Check some other commercial wines. See if they are in the mid 3 range too. If it tastes pretty good then your meter has got to be off. Seems hella high (but not high enough to not be plausible.)
Those things are pretty touchy anyway. My 1st cheap meter did not last long. (I also wasn’t fully aware of all the proper use and care at the time either). Best to go thru the growing pains on the cheap ones tho.
https://morewinemaking.com/web_files/intranet.morebeer.com/files/wphmeter.pdf

 

[Obelix]

This may be my first batch ever - but is certainly not the first one I tasted I would know if the wine is lacking - but I didn't react well. Apologies.

Tried some demineralised water and it showed 6.6. Then tried again with the little calibration bag the manufacturer provided and it was 0.4 out of alignment. So, now recalibrated it shows 4.2.
Still higher than the ideal 3.6 - but less scary ... (?)

Thanks for the tip on distilled water.