Adjusting pH Prior to Bottling

[Peter1]

I have 6gals of Cabernet Sauvignon made from fresh grapes, coming out of the barrel in a week or so. I was tasting and rechecking SO2, pH, and TA last night. The wine is tasting really good, although I think a bit acidic. My pH is 3.28, and TA .58. My thought is the pH is a bit low and should be closer to 3.4 maybe.

I'd like to complete a few bench trials before making any adjustments as I realize adjusting pH/TA this late in the game may be irreversible.

Any recommendations on how I should go about raising the pH of a finished wine ready for bottling? Potassium Carbonate? Distilled water? Leave it alone? The wine did go thru MLF so if the solution is an addition of potassium carbonate, I want to be sure I don't create any off flavors or aromas.

I welcome any thoughts or recommendations! Thanks

Pete

 

[salcoco]

bench trials are certain the answer. I would try some sugar syrup, two cups of sugar to one cup water in a blender, let it clear. take 1/4 cup sample=60ml. add 1/4 tsp of sugar syrup in first , two in second three in third etc. do taste tests. sugar syrup will balance the acid and not sweeten wine. use taste test. only at his stage numbers are just numbers taste is the king. find the right dosage add to base wine also add potassium sorbate to keep refermetation in check.

 

[Boatboy24]

Sal,

What if MLF was done? Would sorbate be a no-no? Would cold stabilization be an option?

 

[Treeman]

I would do some bench trials with potassium bicarbonate. Cold stabilization with a pH lower than 3.65 usually drops pH, so you don't want to go that route.


Cheers!

 

[Peter1]

Thanks for the advice, however, it doesn't sound like there is overwhelming consensus on what the solution path may be. What if I do nothing - and bottle my cab with a pH of 3.2. Will it settle down a bit over time in the bottle? Or am I bottling a problem child?

I don't want to overthink it, but want to do the right thing to have a good wine down the road. Thanks again for the help.


Pete

 

[Treeman]

Just different approaches to getting balance. Adding sugar can offset acidity. As Boatboy notes you may need sorbate for yeast stability, but then malo bacteria can convert sorbate to geranium aromas. I don't like RS in my reds, so I would raise the pH instead.
Try both methods and see what works for you. It might take a bottle of wine to do the bench trials, but then you may end up with 2+ cases of the wine you want.

For potassium bicarbonate, ~1g/L will raise the pH by 0.1 units. So for a trIal, I would setup 5 separate 100 mL samples and then add 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 g of potassium bicarbonate to the series. You may need to degas these before tasting by letting them sit or microwaving briefly as you will get quite a bit of CO2 released. After tasting, check the pH.

Another option to consider would be blending with some high pH wine. May not take much of another wine to get your pH up. Again, bench trials are the way to go.


Cheers!

 

[Boatboy24]

Out of curiosity, how old is this wine?

 

[salcoco]

sorry I missed the MLF had been completed. Cold stabilizing will help or bench trials with potassium carbonate.
Just an off the wall suggestion, if tasting wine at room temperature say 72 deg, trying chilling wine to about 55deg and taste see if acidic taste goes away. this should be the temp red wine should be served minimum is 60 deg.

 

[Peter1]

This is a 2013 Cabernet. Bulk aged in a new med toast Hungarian oak barrel for 6 weeks, and has now been back in the carboy for 2 months awaiting bottling.

This wine was cold stabilized back in February which I think may be the reason for the lower pH reading. I've measured pH throughout the winemaking process on this one and the pH had typically been 3.38. Now, after barrel aging & more bulk aging the pH seems to have dropped to the 3.2 range.

It's not that the wine isn't good. It tastes really nice, just with a bit of an edge to it that I want to soften prior to bottling.

I too do not prefer residual sugar in my reds, so it sounds like maybe some bench trials with added bicarbonate. One addition question - if I bottle without making any adjustments, will the wine mellow out a bit with bottle aging? Or will the perceived acidity remain?

Pete

 

[Treeman]

The perceived acid is not likely to get any better with bottle age. You could drop some more Ktartrate which will drop your acidity, but that won't raise your pH. Slow O2 integration through the cork can help reduce some tannins, but as these go away, you will likely taste more acid.

If you don't like the outcome of the potassium carbonate trials, I would look for some high pH cab, syrah, or merlot to blend in.


Cheers!

 

[sdelli]

I have 6gals of Cabernet Sauvignon made from fresh grapes, coming out of the barrel in a week or so. I was tasting and rechecking SO2, pH, and TA last night. The wine is tasting really good, although I think a bit acidic. My pH is 3.28, and TA .58. My thought is the pH is a bit low and should be closer to 3.4 maybe.

I'd like to complete a few bench trials before making any adjustments as I realize adjusting pH/TA this late in the game may be irreversible.

Any recommendations on how I should go about raising the pH of a finished wine ready for bottling? Potassium Carbonate? Distilled water? Leave it alone? The wine did go thru MLF so if the solution is an addition of potassium carbonate, I want to be sure I don't create any off flavors or aromas.

I welcome any thoughts or recommendations! Thanks

Pete

My two cents..... Re-Calibrate your meter again.... Acid should be higher with such a low Ph. My Cab grapes from Chalk Hill has been high last three years! 3.70 to 3.80..... Always adding Tartaric and cold stabilizing.... To get it down.


Sam

 

[sdelli]

I have 6gals of Cabernet Sauvignon made from fresh grapes, coming out of the barrel in a week or so. I was tasting and rechecking SO2, pH, and TA last night. The wine is tasting really good, although I think a bit acidic. My pH is 3.28, and TA .58. My thought is the pH is a bit low and should be closer to 3.4 maybe.

I'd like to complete a few bench trials before making any adjustments as I realize adjusting pH/TA this late in the game may be irreversible.

Any recommendations on how I should go about raising the pH of a finished wine ready for bottling? Potassium Carbonate? Distilled water? Leave it alone? The wine did go thru MLF so if the solution is an addition of potassium carbonate, I want to be sure I don't create any off flavors or aromas.

I welcome any thoughts or recommendations! Thanks

Pete

My two cents..... Re-Calibrate your meter again.... Acid should be higher with such a low Ph. My Cab grapes from Chalk Hill has been high last three years! 3.70 to 3.80..... Always adding Tartaric and cold stabilizing.... To get it down.


Sam

 

[sdelli]

My two cents..... Re-Calibrate your meter again.... Acid should be higher with such a low Ph. My Cab grapes from Chalk Hill has been high last three years! 3.70 to 3.80..... Always adding Tartaric and cold stabilizing.... To get it down.


Sam

 

[syncnite]

I've used potassium bicarbonate with success.


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