In a previous post I mentioned that I had incorrectly measured TA
because I used .1N NaOH in a TA test where I should have used .2
This lead me to the erroneous conclusion that I had the dreaded high
acid, high pH fruit. I proceeded down the path of fermentation followed
by MLF figuring I had to reduce the acidity even though it would raise
the pH.

Thanks to some help from Greg Boyd and Ben Rotter I was able to
backtrack and recalculate the original juice details where TA was half
of what I incorrectly measured:

1. So it turns out the original numbers from the juice we
Cabernet TA 0.475 pH 3.89 (TA mis-measured 9.5)
Zinfandel TA 0.55 pH 3.98 (TA mis-measured 11)
Merlot TA 0.6 pH 3.9 (TA mis-measured 12)
Chardonnay TA 0.675 pH 3.53 (TA mis-measured 13.5)

2. I discovered the error before adding MLF (to the reds) toward the
middle of primary fermentation and measured using the correct .2N NaOH:
Cabernet TA 0.76 pH 3.87
Zinfandel TA 0.9 pH 3.84
Merlot TA 0.84 pH 3.67
Chardonnay TA 0.88 pH 3.43

OK, still looks like high acid and pH though I can't quite relate these
numbers to the back calculated numbers in #1. Something just doesn't
seem right. At any rate given these numbers I thought I would put the
reds through MLF.

3. 5 Days of MLF lead to the following numbers:
Cabernet TA 0.5 pH 3.97
Zinfandel TA 0.65 pH 3.86
Merlot TA 0.64 pH 3.72

At this point I added 50ppm sulfite and moved them into a 58 deg cellar.

So now I am faced with a number of questions.
A. Not sure about the numbers in 1 and 2. Doesn't give me a lot of
confidence.
B. Seems that MLF went real fast. I did verify with paper
chromotography. Is 5 days common?
C. Do I add tartaric acid to these now post fermentation and MLF to
lower pH and increase acid? If so how much change should I try to
achieve?

By the way, these are the quantities I am working with:
Cabernet 18 liters
Zinfandel 36 liters
Merlot 19 liters

thanks for any help,
Dan