Cab Sauvignon

[thesnow]

Bought grapes 24 lugs(36lb) the brix was 24-25 range
after crushing brix 23 is this normal?
(must mixed in blended)
Ph 3.92, TA 4.2g/l is this acceptable? if not how much tartic acid would be needed

 

[Deezil]

Might still be a little bit of sugar locked up in the solids, but shouldn't be a problem - it should come out once fermentation gets going

Sounds like it needs a sllllliiiigghhttt bump on the acidity, but I've never made a red grape wine so I cant speak from experience. TA seems a bit low / pH seems a bit high, to me though..

Willing to bet someone with some more knowledge on Cab Sauv will chime in shortly

 

[thesnow]

Since i bought this Ph and Ta tester nothing seems good anymore or normal.. when I had no Tester things were simpler and the wine was good.. don't know anymore...

 

[Pumpkinman]

Here are a few ideas:
Did you mix everything real well and retest it, sometimes if we test from the top instead of mixing everything real well, the sample could give lower brix readings?
Are there a lot of whole berries/grapes after the crush, sometimes the reading will be off.
Did you use a refractometer to get those brix readings? If so:
What was the temp of the must when you took your sample, unless you have a refractometer with automatic temperature compensation, you need to use the chart included with the refractometer to get the compensated reading.

I hope that this helps

 

[thesnow]

I'm realizing making wine from grapes once a year isn't enough practice to learn.
I'm glad this wine forum.. it compensates the missing practice.

Cheers

 

[JohnT]

Might still be a little bit of sugar locked up in the solids, but shouldn't be a problem - it should come out once fermentation gets going

Sounds like it needs a sllllliiiigghhttt bump on the acidity, but I've never made a red grape wine so I cant speak from experience. TA seems a bit low / pH seems a bit high, to me though..

Willing to bet someone with some more knowledge on Cab Sauv will chime in shortly

Slight? PH is way high and TA way low. You want to adjust so that PH is around 3.4 and TA is around .60 gpl.

 

[Deezil]

Slight? PH is way high and TA way low. You want to adjust so that PH is around 3.4 and TA is around .60 gpl.

I thought I might catch some grief for that
Didn't see it coming from you though

I was thinking 3.3-3.4 & 0.60 - 0.65, but I'm no expert on Cab Sauv, so I kept my trap shut much as much as I could.. Nice to know I was in the ballpark though

 

[thesnow]

Could I make an Acid/Ph adjustment once the fermentation is over in the primary ? (wouldn't the test results of the juice be more accurate?) and then do an MLF in the secondary.