Tnuscan
Tnuscan=Tennesseean
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2012
- Messages
- 975
- Reaction score
- 329
Last nite I set down to read the new threads/posts. Before I did I popped the cork on one of my favorites, a local 2009 Cynthiania dry red . I poured a glass and was letting it breathe. I was reading one of Johnd's posts and was in the process of posting a reply. I decided to take a sip and I swirled the glass to pull in a whiff, before tasting,...???? I detect a strange aroma, it is the smell of a Band-Aid. : ( So I jump up and pull the pH and the TA.... pH 3.75 ....TA 6g/l. The wine had a brown tint, I expected a little from aging in the barrel but this was a little darker. I am going to test the so2 ,and I feel it's going to come up really low. My thoughts are brett. I thought I detected a very faint taste of something in a bottle last year but I couldn't put my finger on it, I just knew something was a little-bit different. I also noticed a light antiseptic taste lingering in my throat. That's when I decided to make this Thread.
I have read many posts, and noticed while making wine from grapes all the different pH and TA measures, across the different wines. Most of the wines I'm making came in with pH's around 3.2 to 3.4 but after fermentation and mlf they were every where. Because this was my first crush I decided to leave these where they were. I followed the norm of 1/4 tsp of K-meta @ each racking after finishing mlf to where I am now.
What I didn't realize was the importance of the different amounts of SO2 needed for all the different pH levels. One wine had a pH of 3.1 while another wine had a pH of 4.08. And that the 1/4 tsp on the more acidic pH would be fine , I didn't catch how the less acidic 4.08 might be in danger. Because the wine with the 4.08 needed more So2 , and wasn't getting it, it was loosing protection. I noticed the aroma was starting to change (smelling a little off).
I then realized I was going to have to throw more K-meta to the wine with 4.08 pH, than the wine with 3.1 pH. While being in the process of adjusting the pH levels into the ranges I like them. I realized the importance of a way to check the SO2 level so I could give the wines what they each needed instead of hitting them with a little excess and hoping for the better. Which is fine, but for me I really want to "dial it in."
So I'm hoping this thread helps some us to realize how important it is to stay on top of the SO2 levels that are needed for different pH levels.
I have read many posts, and noticed while making wine from grapes all the different pH and TA measures, across the different wines. Most of the wines I'm making came in with pH's around 3.2 to 3.4 but after fermentation and mlf they were every where. Because this was my first crush I decided to leave these where they were. I followed the norm of 1/4 tsp of K-meta @ each racking after finishing mlf to where I am now.
What I didn't realize was the importance of the different amounts of SO2 needed for all the different pH levels. One wine had a pH of 3.1 while another wine had a pH of 4.08. And that the 1/4 tsp on the more acidic pH would be fine , I didn't catch how the less acidic 4.08 might be in danger. Because the wine with the 4.08 needed more So2 , and wasn't getting it, it was loosing protection. I noticed the aroma was starting to change (smelling a little off).
I then realized I was going to have to throw more K-meta to the wine with 4.08 pH, than the wine with 3.1 pH. While being in the process of adjusting the pH levels into the ranges I like them. I realized the importance of a way to check the SO2 level so I could give the wines what they each needed instead of hitting them with a little excess and hoping for the better. Which is fine, but for me I really want to "dial it in."
So I'm hoping this thread helps some us to realize how important it is to stay on top of the SO2 levels that are needed for different pH levels.
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