I made a 2021 pinot noir, and so far I've been delighted with its progress. (Original thread describing crush, fermentation and press is here). The wine (60gal) is in neutral French oak, with topping wine in a keg.
After barreling down, pH and TA were 3.61 and 6.75 respectively. I added ML culture, which (when complete) took pH and TA to 3.70 and 5.55.
I've been diligent with measuring and adding SO2 monthly (targeting ~40ppm as well as topping, of course), and over the last few months a rich, smooth and complex wine has emerged. At my latest topping, however, I noticed a bit of film on the wine. SO2 was still reasonable (28ppm), but surprisingly the pH has gone up to 3.81. Conversely, TA is slightly increased (5.63).
I was planning to bottle in a month or so, but have reservations about that high pH. Options I'm considering are increased SO2, filtering or adding tartaric acid (though a bit leery about the last option this close to bottling). I'd be interested to hear the collective wisdom of the group here (knowing of course that 10 winemakers = 11 opinions, etc)...
Thanks in advance!
After barreling down, pH and TA were 3.61 and 6.75 respectively. I added ML culture, which (when complete) took pH and TA to 3.70 and 5.55.
I've been diligent with measuring and adding SO2 monthly (targeting ~40ppm as well as topping, of course), and over the last few months a rich, smooth and complex wine has emerged. At my latest topping, however, I noticed a bit of film on the wine. SO2 was still reasonable (28ppm), but surprisingly the pH has gone up to 3.81. Conversely, TA is slightly increased (5.63).
I was planning to bottle in a month or so, but have reservations about that high pH. Options I'm considering are increased SO2, filtering or adding tartaric acid (though a bit leery about the last option this close to bottling). I'd be interested to hear the collective wisdom of the group here (knowing of course that 10 winemakers = 11 opinions, etc)...
Thanks in advance!