"glad heart" > wrote in message
om...
> Several of my reds have pH's around 3.5 or so and TA's from 6.5 to
> 7.5g/l. They are 10 months old and have not yet been cold stabilized.
> Tastes are tart but OK with the exception of the amarone (TA 7.5)
> which is tart like a lemon. I'd like to reduce both TA and pH in all
> of these reds.

First off, those sound like pretty reasonable numbers for a red wine, but
I'm confused. If you reduce the pH the wine will become even _more_ tart.

> Should I just cold stabilize or reduce acids with KHCO3 for example
> and then cold stab?

Your best bet is to do a bench trial on a small sample before touching the
main lot. Put some in a small plastic soda bottle (not completely full),
squeeze all the air out and cap it tightly. Put it into the freezer
overnight and then let it sit in the refrigerator until it thaws. That'll
precipitate the excess tartrates. Decant the wine from the sediment and
taste it after it comes to room temperature.

Don't worry about the numbers; concentrate on what it _tastes_ like. If
it's still too acidic, try adding a little carbonate, shaking to release the
CO2 and repeating the above.

> Also, different sources suggest different ideal TA's for finished dry
> reds. Pambianchi on page 83 suggests 4.0-5.5g/l. Don Buchan's
> excellent FAQ site http://www.malak.ca/rcw.faq suggests 6.5g/l. I
> know taste is the ultimate authority but what should I be aiming for
> here?

Forget the numbers. Make it _taste_ good.

> How does one reduce both TA and pH simultaneously?

Oddly enough, this is accomplished by _adding_ acid (tartaric) and removing
the excess as bitartrate by chilling it out.

Tom S