Target PH for Apple wine?

[homesteader26]

Starting my first batch of Apple wine. 24 lbs apples cut and frozen then defrosted added 1 gallon cider 1 gallon water 2 campden tabs then waited pectin enzyme 24 hrs later (today) I adjusted SG up to 1.080 and checked PH it is 3.7. Is this ok or do I need to adjust? I'm ready to pitch yeast but not sure if I need to add something to adjust PH.

Any guidance here would be great! Thanks!!

 

[Turock]

That's pretty high for apple. Of course, your water addition increased the PH to some degree. We never add water to apple as it dilutes the flavor. Set your PH around 3.3 and taste the result--you want some crispness to it. Do a cool ferment on it if you can to retain the volatiles which will give you more flavor. Set your vat or bucket in another container or a wash tub and use water and ice to keep the ferment around 68-72 degrees.

 

[Treeman]

+1. On lowering the pH. 3.3-3.4 has worked for me. I like to add malic acid ~2 tsp per gallon to get the pH down, and lysozyme (2 g/gal) to inhibit malolactic fermentation.


Cheers!

 

[homesteader26]

Thank you guys! I am glad to hear about a cool ferment as I was going to keep the room a warm 80 degrees to keep the ferment rolling along.

I am doing this bucket as a spiced and a second without spices or water.

I have acid blend - can I use that to get my numbers down?

 

[loumik]

Thank you guys! I am glad to hear about a cool ferment as I was going to keep the room a warm 80 degrees to keep the ferment rolling along.

I am doing this bucket as a spiced and a second without spices or water.

I have acid blend - can I use that to get my numbers down?

Acid Blend will work fine, that's what most recipes call for.
LOUMIK

 

[Turock]

Don't add malic acid. Pears, especially Bartlett, already has too much malic in it resulting in a harsh wine that needs lots of aging to smooth it out. This is why we use 71B on pear wine--to metabolize some of the malic. Use acid blend to bring the PH down.

80 degrees is too hot for white style wines. And by a cool ferment, I'm not talking about ambient temp--I'm talking about the fermentation temp. To monitor it, you need to have a thermometer in your vat. We use a floating thermometer. You can find them at www.morewine.com or most wine supply shops.

 

[homesteader26]

Thx Turock I have that yeast on hand and plan on starting my pear soon - my pear tree is young but I have 10 lbs or so sitting on the counter ripening. I plan on cutting them up and freezing then proceeding without adding any water. I saw that squeezing the fruit bag is not recommended, is that right? And betonite a few days in to aid in clearing.

 

[Turock]

Now you're the second person,this morning, to ask me about NOT squeezing the bag. Are you sure you didn't read "not to press??" Pressing is far different from squeezing the bags while they are in the vat. We always squeeze the bags while they're in the vat, but we don't press this fruit because of all the solids that remain. That will just cloud up the wine. So yes--squeeze them, and at the end of the ferment, squeeze out as much juice by hand that you can get.

Add the bentinite on the 2nd or 3rd day OF THE FERMENT. The reason for this is so you don't inactivate the pectic enzyme. But once the enzyme has done its job--on the 2nd or 3rd day depending on how fast your ferment is going--then get a good dose of bentonite in there. We like to use 2 Tbs. of bentonite to 1 cup warm water per 5 gallons. This is a heavier dose because of the viscousness of the pear. But don't use more than that because too much bentonite can strip flavor.

 

[homesteader26]

Thank you sooo much!!