Low pH and low TA

[mfzona]

I got a 6 gallon bucket of California Muscat juice to make some white moscato. The pH is at 3.1 and the TA is at .35 %. Should I add tartaric before pitching yeast to get the TA up, thereby lowering the pH even further, or leave it alone and see how it looks after fermentation? What does everyone do in this situation?

 

[ibglowin]

It is quite unusual to have a low pH and a low TA at the same time. I would suspect you have a testing error of sorts. More info as to how you arrived at these numbers (testing equipment etc) would help.

 

[mfzona]

I'm using my sc300 to get the pH and TA. My numbers match very closely with the numbers measured from the supplier (presque isle in Pennsylvania)

 

[ibglowin]

Then you got no recourse at the moment. I would ferment as is and see where it lands after it is fully fermented and degassed getting rid of all carbonic acid. You might be able to do some tweaking post fermentation but maybe not. Whites are easier to adjust post fermentation. Use your taste buds as the final judgement.

 

[JohnT]

IMHO, something just does not jive here..

You have a PH of 3.1?? Most wines fall in around that range of 3.3 to 3.5.
A PH of 3.1 says that your wine is rather acidic.

You then say that you have a TA of .35 (grams per liter, I assume). This is very, very low. Most whites fall within the range of anywhere from .55 to .75. 3.1gpl is saying that your wine is very SHORT on acid.

Confusing numbers and disagreements between PH and TA do happen. PH measures the acid's strength, while TA measures the total weight of the acid present. For grapes, there are differences, but not like this.

If you are sure of your numbers, I would think twice about adding any acid. According to your PH reading, it is the last thing you should be adding..