Lowering TA or Sugar?

[doughowe]

I'm considering two frozen pinot noir musts from Brehm Vineyards.

Option #1 has
Brix: 25.8
TA: 0.64
pH: 3.77

Option #2 has
Brix: 22.0
TA: 0.89
pH 3.18


#1 appears to have a high sugar which could be lowered by dilution with sweetened acidulated water I'm guessing? That should also lower the pH a tad which would be nice.

#2 appears to have a high acid. I'm planning to do an MLF on this batch which should lower the acid a little and raise the pH?

Questions:
1. Which of these two musts would be easier to balance out away from the extremes of sugar or acid?

2. How much change in TA and pH can reasonably be expected during an MLF?

Experienced opinions greatly appreciated...

 

[Rock]

Im no expert when it comes to pinot noir but if it were me.
Option#1 I would adjust ph with a bit and not touch the brix.I would also press pinot noir at 1 or 2 brix or sooner not to dry,try to keep its fruitiness.
Option#2Bump the brix up a bit to 23.5 or 24.I would also bump the ph up a hair as well.Like i said if it were me.Most guys i know would probably only adjust bucket 2 and let bucket 1 ride.

 

[doughowe]

Hey Rock,
Thanks for the ideas. I'm currently thinking I'll go with bucket #1 and lower the pH to about 3.4-3.5 with tartaric acid before fermentation and leave the sugar alone. The MLF should lower the TA a bit and raise the pH a tad. After MLF if the TA is too low or pH too high, I can correct that at that time if needed. Trying a lot of new (for me) things on this batch...good learning material.
-Doug

 

[pkeeler]

Get both and blend them together. ;-)

 

[Wade E]

Get both and blend them together. ;-)

Thats what I would do! But if you want to play Id go option 2 myself.

 

[doughowe]

Was thinking through some of the details of the process last night and realized that after pressing I'd only have ~3G of wine. So I would either need a 3G carboy or two pails of must and my 6G carboy. So perhaps blending is a good option here. Maybe I'll get one pail of each and mix them together in a 12G fermenter so I can then use my 6G carboys for the rest of the process! Brilliant..and I like the potential numbers of the blend too.