Bob,
Some people do not approve, but most California wineries are now producing
"big red fruit bombs." This style of wine is being produced because it
SELLS.
Very ripe grapes are needed to make this style of wine. But, very ripe
grapes have high Brix and high pH values. High Brix can produce too much
alcohol and make the wines taste too hot. I like to hold the alcohol to
less than ~16% hence the water addition. In general, I do not dilute to
less than 26 Brix.
Tannin and TA work _together_ to produce astringent, rough tasting wines.
These big red wines contain lots of tannin so many winemakers deliberately
try and keep the TA values low (~0.6%) to avoid overly rough wines.
I have found that trying to adjust pH in these big red wines doesn't work
very well because the resulting TA values are often too high (~0.65 - 0.75)
and the wines become very rough and astringent. I want people to use words
like "big," "smooth," "soft," "round" when they describe my big red wines.
In general, adjusting the pH produces higher TA values. The wines are
harder and rougher. Consumers often describe pH adjusted big red wines
using words like "clean," "focused," "vibrant," "sophisticated," etc.
These very ripe grapes are often too high in sugar and too low in TA. So,
the common pre fermentation must adjustments are......
1. A few gallons of plain water per ton of grapes to reduce the Brix.
2. A small tartaric acid addition to get the TA up to ~6 grams per liter.
3. Plenty of yeast nutrients because high Brix levels are hard to ferment
to dryness.
Lum

> wrote in message
...

Lum,

What's the advantage of ameliorating the must over adding tartaric
acid? Why would you water down the grapes? Is it the brix level? Would
you add water if the brix was 26 to start to adjust the ph? Do you, as
a rule ,leave the ph and only adjust the brix if too high?

TIA

Bob

On Nov 14, 8:07 pm, "Lum Eisenman" > wrote:
> "Darin" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Today, I will take delivery of 1/2 ton of premium Napa Valley Cabernet
> > Sauvignon, courtesy of the Caldwell vineyard and Peter Brehm. This is
> > by far the most expensive barrel we've ever made, and fittingly it
> > promises to be the most challenging.
>
> > Every variable seems to be extreme, including 28 Brix, pH 3.80, and TA
> > at 0.67. My goal is to make a "big red California fruit bomb",
> > without excessive intervention.
>
> > Hopefully, the masters of this news group can give me some guidance
> > and I can thereby avoid screwing up what has potential for an
> > incredible vintage.
>
> > The first thing I'm going to do is confirm the chemistry and then
> > ameliorate with acidulated water (7g/L) to reduce brix to 24.5 (I'll
> > remove as much free run as water added).
>
> > Then I'll have a look at TA and pH and see where I stand. I'm
> > considering raising the TA to as high as 0.75 to get what meagre
> > decrease in pH might be possible. Then, with a pH I expect to be
> > around 3.7 - 3.8, I'll have to start the ferment, follow with ML,
> > press, and then send the sulphited wine to the cool cellar to age,
> > precipitate KHT, and enjoy life in its new oak barrel.
>
> > Does this sound reasonable? In the past, I've always used the rule of
> > thumb that pH should be less than 3.5 before fermenting. I don't want
> > an overly acidic wine, though - isn't that the California approach
> > these days (4x4)?
>
> > Thanks much in advance,
>
> > Darin
>
> Darin,
> That is the only kind of red wine I make.
>
> I would add about four gallons of plain water to the 1000# of grapes.
> Should produce a Brix of about 26+ and a TA of 0.63 or so.
> I would ferment with Prise de Mousse or Premier Cuvee yeast.
> Punch down the cap at least four times a day.
> Press after 7 or 8 days on the skins.
> Start MLF.
> Add 50 mg/l of SO2 when MLF is finished.
> Age in a neutral barrel for ~12 months.
> Raise SO2 to 0.5 mg/l of MOLECULAR sulfur dioxide and bottle.
>
> Don't mess with these high quality grapes and don't be afraid of high pH
> wines (see www.vinovation.com/ArticleWinepH.htm).
>
> Good luck,
> Lum- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -