LONG night of winemaking!

[jobe05]

OH yea... Sorry.......


I really like your wines, very ambitious of you. What is your Niagra made of, fresh grapes or juice?

 

[MedPretzel]

Jobe,


I can tell you this: Acid blend is adding acid. It makes the pH go down. You can see it in my Rosemary-Nutmeg wine. 1 tsp for a 1 gallon carboy makes the pH go down by 0.4 in my case.


You asked:
"If you add acid blend to adjust pH, does that now throw off the acid level off?"


In my very limited knowledge: yes and no. If your pH is fine (whatever that is), then it will throw it off to a more acidic level. If your pH is too high (meaning your wine does NOT have enough acid) it will correct it and give it that acidic character that wines usually have. At least that is what I have read about it.


I've only gotten recently into the pH thing, and I'm totally stuck. I haven't gotten a clear answer from anyone about "what's the target pH" when I have asked them. I sort of like my wines, and I just asked my dad if he thought this or the other wine tasted okay, and he said yeah.


I'm also a total dud in SO2... I know nothing about it, and can honestly say that those titrettes are beyond my abilities to use. I just don't get them, and I honestly don't know how to interpret the results.





Sorry for the wishy-washy answer, but that's all I know. Now you guys know what a limited-knowledged winemaker I am.





P.S. Thanks for the comment. Niagara and Concord were from fresh juice from a local vineyard here in the area (www.debonne.com). The concord is so acidic (obviously) that my mouth puckered.

Edited by: MedPretzel

 

[jobe05]

I got a box of the titrettes when I first started making scratch wines and like you, I gave up........ either I didn't get it, or or the science is just such with these titrittes that it is just not made to be an exact science. I also have an acid test kit that I can't seem to master. The instructions tell you to put 3cc's in the syringe, but the increments are in ML....... I gave up on it to....


Now my PH test strips.... right up my alley..... dunk it in, wait to dry a little, compair color........ pretty simple........


So much to learn.......... to much to drink......... I love it!

 

[PolishWineP]

I to am an acid/ph failure. Burt usually does all of that. I have worked with him on it and come up with the numbers while he's sitting there and I do the math in my own way. When making scratch wines I try to use good recipes and stick to them and not worry about the acid. I can't do it all and there was a reason I dropped high school chemistry after the 3rd day. It's just not my bag, baby!

 

[MedPretzel]

to your enthusiasm. I just lost mine there for a couple of minutes. Back on track, though.

I got a wonderful Hanna pH tester from George a few months back. Like I said, my wine-computer-program totally bit the dust (something with Java - JAR or something - for you computer savvies), so I've lost my previous results.

(saw this icon and thought yeah, I'd like to punch someone for losing my notes -- never trust a computer program that is free or a beta version -- worked for over a year, and then poof.

)





Anyhow, I have a computer printout, which the source is unknown to me, who says that "The must for a white wine should ideally start in the pH 3.2-3.4 range. Red musts from pH 3.3 to 3.5. These nubers are pretty arbitrary but in general the pH of your must falls within the ranges indicated, you will have an easier time controlling oxidation, acid balance and bacterial activity."





"Allow 30 seconds for the pH reading" (Mine took longer)


"For various chemistry type reasons, pH 3.55 is considered the magic dividing line between relative safety and more vulnerability to problems of oxidation and/or undesirable bacterial infection."





For what it's worth, I hope this helps. Let me look for another source on SO2... I know someone wrote to me a great answer about it. Couldn't make heads or tails of it. You know what -- I'll post it in a new topic. May stir some discussion up.

 

[jobe05]

Thanks Martina, that would really help.

 

[MedPretzel]

[url]http://www.finevinewines.com/Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8 42&get=last#11711[/url]





The post on SO2

 

[MedPretzel]

Update on the GYM wine. Looks like mud, but there's gonna be TONS of sediment. I just feel it:

It turns out that I had 2.5 gallons of the stuff, where I think about 1/2 of it is going to be sediment. It's so extremely gritty - the feel. I haven't tasted it, and the smell is okay. I think this will have a very interesting heavy character once it's finished - unusual (in my opinion) for a white, which this will seem to be.

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

yeah, it looks like a big bottle of bentonite....

 

[Waldo]

What do think is the cause Martina? Ever experienced it before?

 

[MedPretzel]

yeah, it looks like a big bottle of bentonite....

Doesn't it?

What do think is the cause Martina? Ever experienced it before?

I believe it's the herbs I used. They just throw a lot of sediment I guess. The herbs were simply put through a fine-mesh collander, which probably still let a lot of the smaller particles through.


This morning when I checked on them, a lot of sediment was already at the bottom. I racked the whole shebang getting all the gunk at the bottom of the primary as well.


It's not a usual procedure for winemaking, I know, but that's the way I do it. I like to see what I'm racking off when it's in the carboy.


I've had that with the Rosemary-Nutmeg wine that I've made from dried herbs as well. It just means a couple of extra rackings, that's all. Nothing to be alarmed about, I think.


Here's a pic of the rosemary-nutmeg before:

After (it's the vacuvin demo wine)

Edited by: MedPretzel

 

[MedPretzel]

Update on the gallon-o-betonite (times 2.5!)!

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

This is fun

 

[MedPretzel]

cleaning out those bottles won't be that much fun! The muck at the bottom isn't going to be pretty, that's for sure.

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

You are an old hand at it, should be a breeze

 

[PolishWineP]

Oh! I just had a fun thought on cleaning! Bring Bert's big air compressor into my garage which is right off the kitchen. Run the hose into the kitchen, put warm water and B-Brite into the carboys and add compressed air! Woo hoo! I think I'd wear a rain coat while doing this!

 

[nuke]

Hi. I am a newbe. Just bottled our first batch of wine. Every thing
went GREAT. All of Georges stuff worked super. Our first try is a
concord wine, Grapes from our own vines. Only used half the skins
so it is a nice blush color. Have plum and apple working now. Just
had to tell someone.

 

[MedPretzel]

How wonderful, nuke!

We are alwaysglad to hear how things went - good or bad.

Post some pics so we can all drool over your great new wine!





M.

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

Hi Nuke, and welcome

Curious to know your whereabouts, given you can grow your own varietals.

Bill

 

[MedPretzel]

Update: Bottle-o-Betonite wine (GYM):