Wine Acid Ranges by Varietal?

[DrJayman]

I know there is the broad ranges on Keller's site, but is anyone aware of or able to point one to a more specific recommended acid range listing for the various varietals? I mean for "dry red" .60-.70 is all well and good, but a sangiovese and a syrah wine are pretty different in acid requirements and will have ranges which may meet in the middle but have opposite ends which don't overlap. Anyway, I have done some looking around here and a little elsewhere and not having a lot of luck....

 

[Turock]

I understand the quandry. Some Calif grapes have pretty low acid because their brix is so high. On another wine forum I belong to, there are a lot of people there who live in Calif and work with the Calif varietals and they talk about this subject every now and then. There are also some winery owners on there who have the science of these grapes down pat. It's always good to talk with those people who are working with the grape you have questions on in order to get the best answer.

In every book or white paper I've ever read, it's frequently mentioned that red style wines should have a PH of 3.3 to 3.4 for high acid grapes, or what is also called "cold weather grapes. I live in Ohio, so those are the grapes we work with and that PH is real good for those wines---fruit also. Our white wine has a PH of 3.2

Some of these Calif grapes come out around 3.5-3.7 especially after MLF. I've read that they don't like to get a PH higher than 3.8 because the wine is more subject to spoilage. But they watch their TA very closely too. It all seems so much more complicated to work with those grapes. Cold weather grapes are real forgiving to work with.

You could try to Google PH on Calif varieties---or jump over to winepress.us and ask a guy named gregorio. He has a winery in Calif,and is one of the moderators of one of the forums, and he can fill your head with more technique than you can imagine.

 

[robie]

Jay,

Good advice from Ohio.

Also, something to consider is how will you be drinking the wine.

Wine designed for food pairing will tend to need the acid level to be toward the middle to higher end of its acceptable range. Porch ponders tend to taste better toward the lower to middle end of the range. If the wine is destined for both pairing and drinking alone, think around the middle range. Of course there is "personal preference", which is the most important factor.

This is something you can experiment with, in order to develop your own style.

 

[DrJayman]

These are good thoughts, however in the case of reds one will not know the impact for maybe 2-4 years. In that time how many batches will have been made which might not be to your liking acid-wise?

I have two in bulk right now....a Syrah and a Cab-Merlot. Both come up with the same titratable acidity (.65), but by varietal would normally have a lower and higher acidity. Before I stick these suckers in bottles I want to make sure they are ready for the long haul and have levels like their commerical counterparts.

I will keep looking, but if anyone runs across a "varietal specific acid level range" chart or listing, please post it (and PM me!) Someone at some time has to have assembled something to this effect.

thanks all

 

[robie]

The Wine Maker's Magazine usually has a featured grape variety each month. As a part of that, they tell you how to adjust the acid levels and will give you their advice on the proper level. If you collect enough issues, you will pretty much have what you are looking for.