Ph must question

[Masbustelo]

I picked and crushed some Petite Pearl last night. The Ph is 3.75 and the T.A. is .8. Question: Should I add acid to lower the Ph? Do something post ferment? Nothing? or something different to the aforementioned?

 

[GreenEnvy22]

I would lower it myself.

 

[salcoco]

wait util post fermentation and do taste tests. unless you plan on MLF if so then lower it now.

 

[Masbustelo]

I'm planning on adding acid today. Will the color come back? It seems to have affected the brightness of the color already.

 

[balatonwine]

Best to adjust TA, not pH.

Your must may just be a bit oxidized. The final wine may still be quite "bright" once it has fallen clear. Basically, white wine must is often quite dark at pressing (depending on the grape variety), cloudy and an ugly tan brown during fermentation. Wait and see. It should drop clear and clarify, like magic.

 

[Masbustelo]

For better or worse I added Tartaric acid and lowered the Ph to 3.4. This is a red wine. This is the second full day of fermentation. I think this will be a yearly experience, so this is good practice. I picked 60 pounds of grapes from three year old vines. They were 3.75 Ph and 20 Brix. We are starting 5 days of rain and I couldn't see anything to be gained by leaving them on the vine longer. I picked a few bunches last year and the Ph was about the same. Should I cold stabilize later, how would that effect my final T.A.?

 

[Masbustelo]

Balaton Thinking about what you said about "Best to adjust TA, not pH". I'm thinking that next year prior to harvest, I should watch the T.A and almost ignore the Ph. With longer hang time the T.A should drop, and even if the Ph goes higher, it wont matter. Because if I harvest at high Ph and low T.A I can add acid at crush, bring it down to an acceptable Ph and acceptable T.A and be good to go? The situation to avoid is both high Ph and high T.A at harvest. Am I correct?

 

[zadvocate]

I have heard the opposite I.e you adjust for PH because of micro stability being most important. The acid will fall out as it converts from water to alcohol and if you do an mlf, cold stabilize. There is a podcast called inside wine making were he interviews the winemaker from Sebastiani wines in Sonoma. It’s the pH and TA episode. He only cares about pH and adjust accordingly the must. For reds he wants to be below 3.65.

 

[regnistep]

I picked and crushed some Petite Pearl last night. The Ph is 3.75 and the T.A. is .8. Question: Should I add acid to lower the Ph? Do something post ferment? Nothing? or something different to the aforementioned?

I am curious where you are located that you have already picked PP. I am wiating for some PP around Madison Wisconsin to ripen, and they look like they won't be ready for another 2 weeks.

 

[Masbustelo]

Quad Cities Illinois side. Your that much farther North from me (150 miles) in a different Micro climate and I'm right on the Mississippi River, growing on the South side of my house, totally blocked from North winds. I'm probably at least two weeks ahead of you. If it wasn't for all the rain and raccoon attacks I would have left them hang longer.