when to measure TA

[pounder67]

I started wining in March, and I'm on my 11th batch (1 gal). I recently started measuring TA. Most of my wines are near .7 at bottling. I tried to adjust one of them (Rhubarb) was at .5 and tasted bland. I added some acid blend. It got sharper, and precipitated some of the acid out. I now have been measuring the TA before fermentation, so the acid can blend better. I did an Elderberry and a Blueberry recently. I followed the recipes which called for 1 1/2 t. acid blend, and the TA measured .3. This is pretty low. These are similar recipes to my previous ones which had plenty of acid. I've been measuring the TA after adding the Campden; will that effect anything? Should I be adding acid to get to .6-.7 right away, or leave it and see how it measures later? I don't really trust the .3; I don't want to get too much acid in it and ruin it.

Any thoughts??

 

[BobF]

I started wining in March, and I'm on my 11th batch (1 gal). I recently started measuring TA. Most of my wines are near .7 at bottling. I tried to adjust one of them (Rhubarb) was at .5 and tasted bland. I added some acid blend. It got sharper, and precipitated some of the acid out. I now have been measuring the TA before fermentation, so the acid can blend better. I did an Elderberry and a Blueberry recently. I followed the recipes which called for 1 1/2 t. acid blend, and the TA measured .3. This is pretty low. These are similar recipes to my previous ones which had plenty of acid. I've been measuring the TA after adding the Campden; will that effect anything? Should I be adding acid to get to .6-.7 right away, or leave it and see how it measures later? I don't really trust the .3; I don't want to get too much acid in it and ruin it.

Any thoughts??

The better you make the must prior to ferment, the better the resulting wine - IMO, of course!

 

[pounder67]

So, you don't think testing TA after adding Campden effects the results? I just have a hard time believing my Elderberry (with 5# of berries and 1.5 t. acid blend) was only at 0.3. And the blueberry (with 2# of berries and 1.5 t. acid blend) was at 0.3 also. But, we'll see. I'll see how it tests and tastes later. (Gal. batches)

 

[JohnT]

I do not believe that one will effect the other.