ph and acid

[afss]

how does ph relate to the total acid levels in a must?

I recently started a blackberry wine and found it difficult to get an acid level reading on it so i started thinking about getting those dip test strips but i figure before i go get something i might as well find out if they are related and if they will be useful

Thanks

 

[winemaker_3352]

The TA is a measure of how much acid is in the wine, while pH measures how strong that acid is.

 

[Wade E]

I would save my money and get a digital ph meter. They are a little more pricey but are a world of a difference in accuracy and much easier also to read, If you are making a red wine those test stripps become pretty cumbersome to try and see the color change while with a meter you get a digital read out!

 

[afss]

so do you need the TA and the Ph of can you do just the Ph?

 

[Wade E]

should really have both. Most of the time if one is on the other should be close but not always.

 

[afss]

so what is the correlation between the two?

 

[KSmith3011]

If the acid is too high you will have a bitter taste. If the acid is too low, it will be like drinking water.
As I recall, a high Acid gives a low Ph.
If you are doing a kit you really don't need to worry about the acid or Ph.

 

[afss]

thanks, i was looking more for a corelation of Ph A= TA B or similar. I am working on fruit wines from scratch so i have to get the TA to an acceptable level and with the blackberry mash i found it very difficult to see the color change on the titration.

 

[KSmith3011]

I found Luc's article on white tile acid testing the best for dark colored wines.
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2010/09/zuurmeting-deel-5-measuring-acidity.html

 

[jet]

so what is the correlation between the two?

There is no fixed correlation, meaning you can't simply convert from one to the other.

 

[bluebloodtea]

My understanding is that ph is the measure of acidity/alkalinity of a liquid. I'm curious as to how this doesn't correlate to total acid. What else affects ph levels besides acid/ alkalai?