snpm wrote:
> ........erm, I find the logic hard to swallow if its just that, dont
> you? Why wouldnt you simply sanitise the instrument? You have to stick
> SOMETHING in the must to get the sample, right?

I normally use straws from fast food restaraunts as wine thiefs. They
are extruded at high temperature and almost immediately enclosed in a
paper or plastic wrapper. As such, they are unlikey to be a source of
contamination. I draw out a few teaspoons into a wine glass and place
the pH meter in the sample.

You could, I suppose, sanitize the probe tip in a sulfite solution, but
it is a sensitive instrument. I would rather just expose the probe to
storage and calibration solutions, and to the must.

There's nothing to be gained by placing the probe directly into the
must, and since there are some possible risks, why bother?

Greg G.