[Dave Burt]

Post you chemistry results and planned adjustments for the Suncrest Vineyard Syrah here (reply to this topic).

YAN from a sample sent to the lab on the pick date indicated 125.3 mg N/L

[Dave Burt]

I have 250 lbs of the Syrah in the garage for a cold soak. This evening I did a test on 2 samples which gave near identical readings as follows:
Brix 24.6, pH 3.99, TA 6.9
Brix was done with a refractometer and pH/TA with a brand new Vinmetrica probe (nice response time).
It is unusual to have a pH as high as this with a TA that high. Also, I was expecting a higher Brix.

I will be interested to see what the rest of you got.

Update:
After putting some must in the fridge overnight, and drawing off a sample of clear juice today, I got the following readings:
Brix: 25, pH 4.02, TA 5.2
This TA is more in line with what I would expect for a pH of 4.02. Seems that clear juice is needed for TA measurements.
I added 1 g/L of tartaric acid dissolved in a small amount of water to bring the TA up to 6.2
Pitched D254 yeast rehydrated in Go Ferm this afternoon.

[Dave Burt]

Note to all Syrah people:

Myself and a few other winemakers are getting the smell of nail polish (VA, ethyl acetate) on the must. If you smell this on your must, best to start your ferment right away and forget about doing a cold soak.

[Ron Ramsdale]

I have forced a low temperature cold soak. In and out of the cooler so it is likely around 4 degrees. This should hold off any premature fermentation with wild yeasts. I am going to make port of the 150# that I have. D254 yeast.
Question, what is a suitable or best pH and TA for a port. I will be fortifying at approx 1.030 with the intent of making a ruby/tawny style. I have researched and have found a lower TA is required and some say a TA is preferable. Would be great to hear what your experiences are.
Thanks-Ron

[Dave Burt]

Hi Ron,
Regarding port making, Doug Morrison and George Beck from our club both make excellent port though you may have to call them directly. Doug is off hunting – not sure when he gets back.
-Dave

[Franco Sartor]

Good Monday Morning all… As with David I also had some VA on Sunday morning when I went to punch down… But much better in the Afternoon… Will have to punch down more often as there is a vast improvement with more frequent attention….
I had already started my yeast (1116) and pitched when I had the must in the Primary Saturday afternoon. Thanks to everyone for the good work… Sorry I had to leave a few minutes early ;-(
My Syrah numbers…
PH 4.00 SG 1.10 TA 6.2

[Don Graham]

My #s for a settled sample
Brix 24 pH 4.1 TA 5.0
I added 2g/L tartaric
Smelled some VA added 100PPM SO2 after crush
I have the temp at 9 C so am still cold soaking

[Julian Young]

Good Day all,

I would appreciate any recommendations on dealing with low pH. I don’t think my original pH measurements were accurate due to callibration problems and technique, but am now confident in my current numbers.
pH 2.9 , TA 6.8 I tried to do a malolactic fermentation but it stuck, probably because of the low pH.

thanks,
Julian Young

[Dave Burt]

Hi Julian,
You would have had to add a lot of acid to get a pH of 2.9 – how much did you add? If there is trapped CO2 in your wine it will skew your pH reading downward.

To encourage ML: add some leucofood or opti-malo nutrient, warm the wine up to around 22 C (72 F), stir every few days. A thin layer of dead yeast cells on the bottom also helps. Re-inoculate if necessary.

Also, I have had ML’s where it was difficult to see if anything was happening, yet chromatography testing after a couple of months indicated completion.

[Julian Young]

I initially had a pH of 4.02 . I added 20 g tartaric acid which brought it down to 3.72 . After fermentation I got the reading of 2.89. I don’t know if the 3.72 or 4.02 was a bad reading, it’s possible. I will try your advice. Thanks for responding.

Julian

[Dave Burt]

Hi Julian,
Your initial pH is comparable to what others got so I would trust it. You received 100 lbs of Syrah, so your juice volume in the must was probably about 28 L. Thus, your addition of 20 g of tartaric works out to less than 1 g/L (0.71 g/L by my estimate), which is a conservative addition. I suspect your pH reading of 2.89 is due to CO2 in the wine.

I would suggest you taste the wine and use your taste buds to assess the acid balance in the wine. You may not get an accurate pH reading until ML is done and the wine is still. For now your taste buds may be your best tool.