Winemaking 2023 is gearing up.

[Nebbiolo020]

I remeasured the juice brix with my Hanna bench Refractometer, samples filtered using coffee filters. The numbers are still high but better. I can work with this.

I tested the calibration with 20g sucrose in 80g distilled water and got 19.9 Brix

View attachment 106492

Vineyard	Brix	TA
M Cab 1 + Cab 2	26.0	7.1
M Merlot	27.8	3.8
Raisin Bran	30.4	8.0

Back to work...

That is nicer but not by much lol

 

[Snafflebit]

That is nicer but not by much lol

Yes unfortunately I had to backwater and add tartaric acid. But, I have had worse years, 2021-2022. I need to get a handle on my ripeness. I can taste when tartaric has been added and it does not evoke a "fine wine" experience. Fortunately I have only adjusted up 1g/L this year on the Merlot. And I have been getting comments on my wine being tart. So, another round of winemaking roulette begins.

 

[winemaker81]

Yes unfortunately I had to backwater and add tartaric acid. But, I have had worse years, 2021-2022. I need to get a handle on my ripeness. I can taste when tartaric has been added and it does not evoke a "fine wine" experience. Fortunately I have only adjusted up 1g/L this year. And I have been getting comments on my wine being tart. So, another round of winemaking roulette begins.

If the feedback is that your wines are tart, go lighter on acid adjustments.

I learned to not trust the equations, as the equations include a few variables and there are many. My advice is to add less than you believe you need, as it's far easier to add more than to take some out. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but it is literally true.

This lesson was learned the hard way. Now? If the pH is 3.8 or less, I rarely adjust prior to fermentation, and post-fermentation all adjustments are by taste. The pH meter won't drink the wine, so I don't care what its opinion is.

 

[Snafflebit]

BM 4x4 yeast pitched last night, I am seeing activity. I am watching the raisin bran closely. I have added a no-name brand of Fermaid O to my batches.
I pitched Vinaflora CH16 malolactic culture this morning into the cab and merlot. I did not put it in the port batch, not sure if I should try to get MLF going it that, or not. My punchdown tool will be going through all the batches so I think it is unavoidable.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

If the feedback is that your wines are tart, go lighter on acid adjustments.

I learned to not trust the equations, as the equations include a few variables and there are many. My advice is to add less than you believe you need, as it's far easier to add more than to take some out. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but it is literally true.

This lesson was learned the hard way. Now? If the pH is 3.8 or less, I rarely adjust prior to fermentation, and post-fermentation all adjustments are by taste. The pH meter won't drink the wine, so I don't care what its opinion is.

I add tartaric prior to fermentation only it tastes better and integrates better and it’s pretty much necessary every year minus cool years like 2023.

I shoot for a finished wine ph of 3.8 at the most.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Yes unfortunately I had to backwater and add tartaric acid. But, I have had worse years, 2021-2022. I need to get a handle on my ripeness. I can taste when tartaric has been added and it does not evoke a "fine wine" experience. Fortunately I have only adjusted up 1g/L this year on the Merlot. And I have been getting comments on my wine being tart. So, another round of winemaking roulette begins.

2021 wasn’t bad I made some of my best wines in 2021 2022 was a total loss we didn’t get any wines in 2022 grapes were poor quality and yields were too low to bother.

2023 is looking good the berries on our cab are so small as to be smaller than my pinky finger tip like I’m talking really premium cab high skin to juice ratio real tannic as well

 

[Snafflebit]

I always assumed that 3.8pH was high, but my thoughts are changing. I think that the high alcohol wines I make are enhancing the acidic taste while also decreasing the tannin flavor and I need to change my acid target. It should not be a fixed number.

The merlot tasted a little flat IMO before the acid boost. Of course the sweetness can influence that acid taste and will change in the finished wine, so again, hard to tell. Again I targeted 4.8 g/L total acid. Cab is back watered with the same level of acidulated water which will actually lower the overall acid amount. I will be able to see what is the difference.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I always assumed that 3.8pH was high, but my thoughts are changing. I think that the high alcohol wines I make are enhancing the acidic taste while also decreasing the tannin flavor and I need to change my acid target. It should not be a fixed number.

The merlot tasted a little flat IMO before the acid boost. Of course the sweetness can influence that acid taste and will change in the finished wine, so again, hard to tell. Again I targeted 4.8 g/L total acid. Cab is back watered with the same level of acidulated water which will actually lower the overall acid amount. I will be able to see what is the difference.

It should be a fixed number really you shouldn’t deviate from 3.7-3.8 on any red.

That’s how I feel. You want a TA of like 0.550-0.660 you don’t want under 5g I would say or it will be flabby.

 

[winemaker81]

I add tartaric prior to fermentation only it tastes better and integrates better and it’s pretty much necessary every year minus cool years like 2023.

I shoot for a finished wine ph of 3.8 at the most.

I haven't noticed any difference regarding when I add acid, although I've never done a direct comparison. I have noticed that acid added post-fermentation needs a melding period, typically 3 months, before it settles in.

 

[winemaker81]

It should be a fixed number really you shouldn’t deviate from 3.7-3.8 on any red.

Sorry, I must disagree.

Search for "what is the best ph for a red wine". On DuckDuckGo the first result I read says that a pH range of 3.4 to 3.7 is commonly desirable for red wines, and 3.2 to 3.5 for white wines. Then check others sources -- they vary, but are generally in this range, as are folks on this forum.

Regardless of source, the target pH is always a range. Why? Because every wine is different.

Please note I'm not arguing with your taste in wine. If what you are doing works for you? Cool!

I purchased a pH meter a year ago -- prior to that I used test strips to get a ballpark. I'm going to test pH on wines as I open them, just to see what the pH readings are.

 

[Snafflebit]

I'm going to test pH on wines as I open them, just to see what the pH readings are.

I have started doing this also, and TA. I bought 1L of NaOH on Amazon and looking for ways to use it

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Sorry, I must disagree.

Search for "what is the best ph for a red wine". On DuckDuckGo the first result I read says that a pH range of 3.4 to 3.7 is commonly desirable for red wines, and 3.2 to 3.5 for white wines. Then check others sources -- they vary, but are generally in this range, as are folks on this forum.

Regardless of source, the target pH is always a range. Why? Because every wine is different.

Please note I'm not arguing with your taste in wine. If what you are doing works for you? Cool!

I purchased a pH meter a year ago -- prior to that I used test strips to get a ballpark. I'm going to test pH on wines as I open them, just to see what the pH readings are.

I’m speaking from experience and I will add on that as a winery owner and a commercial winemaker we like to keep ph similar for consistency in wines each year. Consistency is key. So that’s why we stick to a pretty rough ph range.

Our wines will sit at 3.7 this year a little more acid than past yeast due to how cold it’s been

 

[Snafflebit]

As a datapoint, today's conversation got me curious, so we went to taste some wine at a local winery (name withheld). I tried their gold medal Malbec the whole time wishing that I had my pocket pH meter with me HAHAH (that's an idea, pull that out in the tasting room). Immediately upon coming home I sampled my 2022 cabs and merlot, these wines are not sour at all and I noticed RS that had not registered in the past. My 4.8 g/L target won't have anyone puckering. Tasting wines without having several reference points is futile for me. My taste memory is simply not good enough.

 

[winemaker81]

I’m speaking from experience and I will add on that as a winery owner and a commercial winemaker we like to keep ph similar for consistency in wines each year. Consistency is key. So that’s why we stick to a pretty rough ph range.

Our wines will sit at 3.7 this year a little more acid than past yeast due to how cold it’s been

That makes sense.

However, you are in a very specific situation including location, grapes, etc. Your method works for you because of that. My situation is completely different, with much lower pH.

The Vidal juice pH was 3.24 while the skins and remaining juice, that soaked overnight, was 3.31. The Chambourcin was fermented on the skins in 2 batches -- one pH was 3.24 while the other was 3.40. I'm considering my options for reducing the acid and have numerous ideas in mind.

 

[Snafflebit]

I had some Oregon Pinot Noir (Sokol Blosser) last night, came in at 3.46pH which I think was great tasting and appropriate for the varietal. But my friend refers to this style as “battery acid pinot”. To each his own. This seems like a good subject for a thread and maybe get a few more people involved

 

[Snafflebit]

I would like to ask for a sanity check on the calculation for the port fortification. I will follow the procedure given on MAKING PORT WINE. It is concise and since I am starting from raw materials, it seems appropriate.

Following the traditional California port style of "10% sugar level and 20% ABV" this is what FermCalc is showing.



The method is to plot the Brix decrease and extrapolate to a point to know the time where the sugar level is 10% then fortify to 20% ABV. I don't know how fussy I need to get about % sugar vs. Brix
I guess the calculator is telling me that at 10% sugar, the mixture of wine, alcohol and water in the must will result in ~5.7 Brix


And look at what I found in Reno, Nevada for $41 per handle at Total Wine. This paint stripper is not sold in California.

 

[winemaker81]

I would like to ask for a sanity check on the calculation for the port fortification. I will follow the procedure given on MAKING PORT WINE. It is concise and since I am starting from raw materials, it seems appropriate.

I have a simple workbook that implements Pearson's Square from the ABV of the constituents -- it doesn't take into account anything else, but it provides an answer.

For 19 liters of wine at 14.6% ABV, my calc is 1.368 liters of 190 proof (95% ABV) EverClear. The difference between my workbook and FermCalc is 1 ml, so IMO you're ready to go.

 

[Snafflebit]

Thanks, Bryan. I will do some further tinkering with FermCalc, what a great tool it is!

 

[CDrew]

Funny you got the good Everclear. We do the same. In this aspect, California sucks. Free the Everclear!

 

[Snafflebit]

The authorites fear that it will be used for Molotov cocktails to burn down San Francisco