Wine readings after bottling

[blaster1232]

Hello to everyone from Baltic states!

This is my first post here. This was the year that i finally got involved in winemaking myself. My first batch was 25 liters (around 6,5 gallon) of dry rhubarb wine. As most of us, I had very little knowledge of what I was doing, and I also didn't have a particular recipe that I followed. I chopped around 15 kilos (33 lbs) of fresh rhubarb, and put it in a freezer overnight. I assumed (yes, out of nowhere) that the rhubarb itself had enough sugar to produce around 3% alcohol, therefore I did the calculation and added some extra sugar equivalent to 9% of alcohol, hitting that 12% mark in the end. I pressed the juice, mixed it with water, added potassium metabisulfite, added some Lalvin 1118, went through primary, then racked it to secondary, left it there for two months. The wine started to clarify, I racked it again and after additional month i decided to bottle it. And it turned out just wonderful. Not wonderful for a first batch, but actually nice, very similar to some New Zealand Sauvignons. So the next problem that I am currently facing is - how, without taking any measurements before this batch, can I replicate my success next year?

What would you do? I did take it to a professional vinery, and they determined my wine to be 12,2% alcohol, which is a little high, but still in a reasonable range. With out a doubt, I have learned to use a hydrometer now, but apart from that, are there any useful measurements that i could do now after the wine has been bottled? would pH reading be objective now? Should I do TA reading? What about free SO2 reading (im quite sure it has very little to do with flavours). What would you recommend?

Thank you very much in advance brothers and sisters!

 

[sour_grapes]

I will not try to answer your questions tonight, but welcome to WMT!

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Hello to everyone from Baltic states!

This is my first post here. This was the year that i finally got involved in winemaking myself. My first batch was 25 liters (around 6,5 gallon) of dry rhubarb wine. As most of us, I had very little knowledge of what I was doing, and I also didn't have a particular recipe that I followed. I chopped around 15 kilos (33 lbs) of fresh rhubarb, and put it in a freezer overnight. I assumed (yes, out of nowhere) that the rhubarb itself had enough sugar to produce around 3% alcohol, therefore I did the calculation and added some extra sugar equivalent to 9% of alcohol, hitting that 12% mark in the end. I pressed the juice, mixed it with water, added potassium metabisulfite, added some Lalvin 1118, went through primary, then racked it to secondary, left it there for two months. The wine started to clarify, I racked it again and after additional month i decided to bottle it. And it turned out just wonderful. Not wonderful for a first batch, but actually nice, very similar to some New Zealand Sauvignons. So the next problem that I am currently facing is - how, without taking any measurements before this batch, can I replicate my success next year?

What would you do? I did take it to a professional vinery, and they determined my wine to be 12,2% alcohol, which is a little high, but still in a reasonable range. With out a doubt, I have learned to use a hydrometer now, but apart from that, are there any useful measurements that i could do now after the wine has been bottled? would pH reading be objective now? Should I do TA reading? What about free SO2 reading (im quite sure it has very little to do with flavours). What would you recommend?

Thank you very much in advance brothers and sisters!

Welcome to the forum! You will learn alot of helpful information here. I made a rhubarb this year for the first time and it is currently bulk aging. To facilitate clearing I added finely "smashed" clean eggshells. I will help in any way I can, but "readings" are still a mystery for me. Good luck.......................DizzyIzzy

 

[blaster1232]

Welcome to the forum! You will learn alot of helpful information here. I made a rhubarb this year for the first time and it is currently bulk aging. To facilitate clearing I added finely "smashed" clean eggshells. I will help in any way I can, but "readings" are still a mystery for me. Good luck.......................DizzyIzzy

Hello DizzyIzzy! Were you satisfied with the clearing that eggshells did? This is another problem that I am currently facing. The first batch cleared by itself in around two months to a crystal clear product. The same happened with apple wine I made, but I am having hard time to clear the second batch of rhubarb wine. 3 months after racking from secondary, and it is still cloudy. I also made a slurry out of bentonite and water, poured it in, but now, after two weeks, clay has settled at the bottom of demijohn, but the cloudiness is still present.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Hello DizzyIzzy! Were you satisfied with the clearing that eggshells did? This is another problem that I am currently facing. The first batch cleared by itself in around two months to a crystal clear product. The same happened with apple wine I made, but I am having hard time to clear the second batch of rhubarb wine. 3 months after racking from secondary, and it is still cloudy. I also made a slurry out of bentonite and water, poured it in, but now, after two weeks, clay has settled at the bottom of demijohn, but the cloudiness is still present.

Yes, I was pleased with the clearing, and even more pleased not to have to add any more chemicals than absolutely necessary.............................DizzyIzzy

 

[winemaker81]

To reproduce your results? Follow the same method -- 15 kilos rhubarb, freeze it, press it. Add water.

Then check the specific gravity. Use that value to determine how much sugar to add. I recommend a target of 11% ABV. Wines with an ABV lower than 10% don't age as well. I recommend 11%, as alcohol content affects flavor -- if you drop it too much from 12.2% it is noticeable.

IMO, if the wine tastes good, pH and TA don't get you anything of value. I check pH and add acid prior to fermentation, but don't often check TA -- I have a TA kit, but I suck at doing red wine titration. However, in general, if the wine tastes good I don't often mess with acid after fermentation.

SO2 levels won't affect flavor unless you add way too much. I don't check SO2 as I don't see a value in it -- I add 1/4 tsp K-meta per 5 gallons at every racking after fermentation completes. If you feel the need, check it.

Opinions range from "test nothing" to "test everything". As you make more wines, experiment and figure out where you lie in that range.

 

[Rice_Guy]

a few rhubarb tests (sugar seems stable at 5% in this climate, acid decreases with age when picked):
2016 pH =3.31
2017 pH , 3.32 , gravity 1.020
2018 pH , 3.14 , gravity 1.016 , TA 1.62% (as tartaric)
2019 pH , 3.27 , gravity 1.018 , TA 1.038%
2020 pH , 3.67 , gravity 1.018 , TA 1.41%
2020 pH , 3.87 , gravity 1.020 , TA 1.61% (my brother let his rhubarb get a meter high, ie picked late)

I find rhubarb clears well when freezing to juice, also I run all juice so the titratable acidity is high therefore I back sweeten to 1.015

 

[winemanden]

Luc in the Netherlands did an interesting experiment with Rhubarb juice. He froze it in plastic bottles and there were two distinct zones when frozen. He cut them in two and, I think it was the top part that was definitely higher acid. I could be wrong, I often am, but I think the top part was Oxalic acid.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Oxalic acid is primarily in the leaf, not the stem,,,DO NOT EAT OR PROCESS THE LEAF oxalic acid is toxic in concentration/ a little doesn’t hurt. Stems are primarily malic acid with a fraction of oxalic acid.
Ice crystallization is a good technique to concentrate sugars, or salt and acid (high TA). ,,, ie anything that can lower the freezing point.