High ph

[wineview]

I have a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a ph of 3.13. A bit acidic for my taste. How do I raise the PH to make it a bit softer.

 

[winemaker81]

I'd start with cold stabilization, as it's hard to go wrong with it. Chill the wine down to 32 to 40 F (0 to 4 C) for 1 to 2 weeks, then rack before it warms up. If there is excess tartaric acid, crystals will drop, and it will help clear the wine as a side effect.

 

[wineview]

Getting the wine down to 32F could be tough. It has been in bulk for 13 months at 55-65F What are your thoughts on Potassium Carbonate. Clarity is not a problem.

 

[winemaker81]

@wineview, I appreciate the problems with cold stabilization of wines in bulk. When I lived in NY, I put wines on my porch, where the winter temperature was between freezing and 40 F. That made life easier.

Can you put the wine in gallon/4 liter jugs? Refrigerating jugs is often easier.

Potassium carbonate will work. Figure out how much you need to make the adjustment you need, and use 1/4 that amount. It's easier to add more than it is to take some out. IME the wine needs less treatment than calculations indicate.

 

[wineview]

I live in upstate NY and winter is coming. The wine in question was one I bottled today. As they say, the baby is born. What would be the best course of action For future low ph values? Seems potassium carbonate be the easiest the challenge would be how much to add

 

[bluecrab]

For the wine you just bottled, put it in the fridge for two weeks. The acid will precipitate and give you a smoother wine.

 

[Ajmassa]

i think the acid movement was pretty balanced too. like, adding 1g/L antacid, moves ph up 1 and TA down 1.

ex: ph 3.13 to 3.23. TA 8.5g/L to 7.5g/L.

For a bench trial I used x4 little 375 mL bottles. Filled 100mL in each. Added my acid removal chem in diff dosages (think they all basically work similar. K-bicarb/carbonate, calcium bicarb/carbonate. I used K-bicarb. Shit u could probably drop Tums in there and get the job done!)

I did .25g/L, .50g/L 1g/L and 0g/L for a control. Freezer overnight maybe. Then immediate results & lots of dropout. (Even in the control bottle, tho slight) You’ll find that sweet spot between chalky & bitter. Then dose the lot & put carboys in the shed for a about a month.

its a yuuge pain in the ass but it works and I also learned a lot when I did it.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I live in upstate NY and winter is coming. The wine in question was one I bottled today. As they say, the baby is born. What would be the best course of action For future low ph values? Seems potassium carbonate

These bottles could be put in a cold/ 28F garage or for that matter cycle them a few at a time for a week in the fridge. Hard Freezing 20F causes liquid to expand and the corks might push out.

 

[wineview]

For the wine you just bottled, put it in the fridge for two weeks. The acid will precipitate and give you a smoother wine.

And it did.