"Marty Phee" > wrote in message
et...
>I finally got my pH meter and acid test kit.
>
> 4.0+pH
> < .4% TA
>
> I did the acid test twice. Once with full strength wine and the second I
> diluted it with distilled water.
>
> I'm thinking I need to increase it to around .6%, but is that too much to
> add?
>
> I have tartaric, but would I be better off getting an acid blend?

As Joe said, use tartaric. There's no way to predict how much acid will
move the pH how far because it depends on the wine's buffering capability.
Also, there's no way to predict at what pH the wine will taste balanced -
but there's a good way to do what you're contemplating.

Do a trial on a bottle first. Adjust it to pH 3.5 with tartaric (noting the
volume of wine and the amount of tartaric it took to get to 3.5 pH). Put it
and a similar size bottle of unadjusted wine (not too full, now!) into the
freezer overnight. It's best to use plastic bottles for this. Next day,
thaw the wine if it has frozen and decant the clear liquid from the
white-ish sediment.

Taste both samples, side by side. The adjusted sample will probably be too
tart; the control sample will be so flat you could slip it under a door.

Mix the two samples in various combinations (noting the ratio of the
components) until you find a combination that tastes good. It's best if you
do this with a friend who has a reliable palate so you can compare notes.
Once you find the ratio that's pleasant, you can scale the amount of
tartaric to add to the entire batch. If your algebraic skills aren't so hot
get someone else to do the math for you, or at least check your numbers.

You'll need to chill out the excess bitartrate from the wine after adding
the tartaric, but you need to do that anyway after making an acid
adjustment. HTH.

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com