Lower TA with MLF and Potassium Bicarbonate

[Matthew Hodorowicz]

I have several carboys with Chambroucin must/juice from last fall's grape harvest. After fermentation the TA was 8 gm/L and it was very tart to the taste. I tried to lower the TA by using Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) and Potassium Bicarbonate in two (2) separate carboys. After 3 months the TA for MLF was still high at 8gm/L, the TA for the Potassium Bicarbonate came down to 6.75gm/L. In an attempt to save the carboy with the MLF, I added Potassium Bicarbonate to it. A month later the TA dropped from 8.0gm/L to 6.0gm/L. So my question is, by combining MLF and Potassium Bicarbonate in the same carboy, is this wine safe to drink?

 

[stickman]

Yes, you're safe to drink regarding MLF and potassium bicarbonate combined.

 

[Matthew Hodorowicz]

Yes, you're safe to drink regarding MLF and potassium bicarbonate combined.

Great news. Thanks for a quick reply.

 

[NorCal]

That’s the nice thing about wine. It tends to be quite objectionable to drink before it will actually be bad for you.

 

[Johnd]

@Matthew Hodorowicz , did your wine actually ever go through MLF? If not, by combining the wines, you’ll have mlb in both batches, there would be some risk of it starting up at a later time, perhaps even in bottles.

 

[sdelli]

I rarely check my TA in my wines. My target is the Ph which will effect how much so2 will be absorbed into the wine. You never told us your ph reading.

 

[Matthew Hodorowicz]

Some additional information as requested.
I do not plan to combine the wine from the MLF and Potassium Bicarbonate carboys. So the risk of a MLF restart is limited to one carboy.

Regarding the pH and TA here is the time line, AFTER secondary fermentation and degassing:
10/26/18 - pH of 3.5 and TA of 8.5G/L
Malolactic culture added - White Labs - WLP675
Carboy keep at 75 - could not see evidence of activity
02/04/19 - pH of 3.5 and TA of 7.0 G/l Still quite tart to the taste
6.8G of Potassium Bicarbonate added per gallon
03/08/19 - pH of 4.0 and TA of 6.0 G/l - pH meter started to act erratic
Quick taste test and it was quite good, but started thinking about the safety of it.
I will need to retest and if still high, I will need to adjust.

 

[stickman]

You may want to read through this thread.

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/thre...ate-cold-stabilization-basic-questions.68314/