What meters and test equipment for a new wine maker?

[Rivenin]

So... being a beer brewer for years, i have most of the basic equipment for country wines and such taken care of (fermentation vessels, hydrometers, refractometer, etc) However, i'm not sure what in the way of other meters and such i need.

In order to make country wines, i know i need at least a PH meter and a TA kit... i did buy a TA kit recently, and i am going to buy a PH meter hopefully in a month or two.
However, what other items for wine making would come in handy?

i've been making wine from the recipes i've been finding here and on my beer brewing site, but i have a feeling i'll make it much better knowing the proper readings

 

[jswordy]

I've been making wine a long time with a hydrometer, period.

 

[Rivenin]

No TA or PH readings?
Are you just going off of tried and true recipes that are posted?

 

[jswordy]

No TA or PH readings?
Are you just going off of tried and true recipes that are posted?

No. I have taste buds. It's been 10 years now. Beer makers love paraphernalia. Only pot smokers maybe have a greater love for paraphernalia than beer makers.



I'm not saying we do not have our "gear - heads" here, though. They will be chiming in later, I reckon.

 

[Rivenin]

hah! that we do

I've been hearing a few people mention about tasting and getting it fixed that way... while its intriguing, i'm kind of confused a bit by it as fermentation will change flavors (if you're tasting it before fermentation) and i know in some wines (high acid stuff, like blackberries and such) you can't fix after fermentation is completed.

But I've also heard that you want it to be a bit more "tart" then what you would have at the breakfast table before fermentation. which with the recipes i've done so far, that all seems correct with what i've been tasting

 

[jswordy]

hah! that we do

I've been hearing a few people mention about tasting and getting it fixed that way... while its intriguing, i'm kind of confused a bit by it as fermentation will change flavors (if you're tasting it before fermentation) and i know in some wines (high acid stuff, like blackberries and such) you can't fix after fermentation is completed.

But I've also heard that you want it to be a bit more "tart" then what you would have at the breakfast table before fermentation. which with the recipes i've done so far, that all seems correct with what i've been tasting

I have brewing friends. One went on to start a brewery here! Tease them all the time about all their stuff.

I have never found a wine of any kind that could not be fixed on the back end. Never. My goal though is to make one that does not need anything on the back but aging.

There are a whole cadre of people on here who will tell you to taste your must, taste your fermentation as it progresses and taste your wine. If you do this, you will find out what it is you need to know over time. You'll get so darned good at it that you'll be able to adjust on the fly as things progress, instead of waiting until the end.

Then there are the other cadre of test and know with numbers folks. That's fine, too, but too much like a chemistry experiment for me personally. I trust my tongue.

Fortunately, one thing you will quickly find is that wine is so much more forgiving than beer. As you progress, you will probably tune better and better your approach to each must so that there will be less and less need to fix things on the back end.

That takes doing. Gear yourself to achieving the biggest boldest flavor you can by bottling time, and you'll do well. Oh, and one other thing: aging makes it better, almost every single time. You can simply forget it in the bottle and that alone will often erase many mistakes. It's no coincidence that the best aging wines usually taste awful when they are bottled.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I only use a ph meter and most of the time my taste is more accurate, and of course a hydrometer which is important as well.
I agree with alot that jswordy mentioned above ^^ I will normally fix my wines near the end - if I even have to.

 

[jswordy]

Oh, I forgot! You need an All-In-One vacuum pump.

Still working on commission trying to get me a free one.

 

[chrisjw]

I test my wine using a pH meter when the acidity seems off or when making something new from fruit that just seems too tart. Anyways, you can test TA with just a pH meter and some sodium hydroxide and nothing else. It recently helped me to save some wine that I thought was too acidic, but was really way over-tanninized and only a bit too acidic.

I also have an A/O setup for testing free SO2. I bulk age most of my finer wines, some more than a year, and I do not want to guess when periodically adding the required kmeta. I over-suphited a wine once and it was nasty, for years, until I finally dumped it into the Sea of Cortez.

You don't need a pH meter or Free SO2 test kit but for me, it helps.

 

[KenS]

No. I have taste buds. It's been 10 years now. ...

Wow, I've had mine for way longer than that

 

[satyadev]

I have been using hydromter from long time and taste good....................