it is my second go at making wine,and i've noticed that after the
first fermentation,the ph increases. When i crushed the grapes my
reading was 3.4, however on my first racking the ph has gone up to
3.9. Is there a reason for this? Should i check the wine more often? i
have added some tartaric now. During the time it spent with a high ph
could it spoil itself?

fishziblu wrote:

> it is my second go at making wine,and i've noticed that after the
> first fermentation,the ph increases. When i crushed the grapes my
> reading was 3.4, however on my first racking the ph has gone up to
> 3.9. Is there a reason for this? Should i check the wine more often? i
> have added some tartaric now. During the time it spent with a high ph
> could it spoil itself?
It is common for the pH to rise during or after fermentation. If you did not
add any Malo Lactic culture, your grapes probably underwent a ML fermention
from the natural culture on the grapes. You did the right thing by adding
tartaric. You also need to protect your wine with SO2 and the amount you
use depends on the new pH of your wine after you added the tartaric.

In article >,
"Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:

> fishziblu wrote:
>
> > it is my second go at making wine,and i've noticed that after the
> > first fermentation,the ph increases. When i crushed the grapes my
> > reading was 3.4, however on my first racking the ph has gone up to
> > 3.9. Is there a reason for this? Should i check the wine more often? i
> > have added some tartaric now. During the time it spent with a high ph
> > could it spoil itself?
> It is common for the pH to rise during or after fermentation. If you did not
> add any Malo Lactic culture, your grapes probably underwent a ML fermention
> from the natural culture on the grapes. You did the right thing by adding
> tartaric. You also need to protect your wine with SO2 and the amount you
> use depends on the new pH of your wine after you added the tartaric.

Good news is that the pH is just about right for Robert Parker;O)

You need some way of measuring the "free" SO2. The Ripper method calls
for a starch indicator, sulfuric acid, an Erlenmeyer flask, and a
burette. Otherwise you risk O.D.ing your wine on SO2. Nothing like 100
parts per million (ppm) of SO2 in your wine to give you a blinding
headache.

For the addition, I use 1 lb potassium metabisulfite per 1 gallon of
water to make a 5% solution. Then the formula is ppm of SO2 that you
want to add, times the gallons added to, times the fudge factor of .063
equals the number of milliliters of 5% SO2 solution to add (#ppm X
gallons X .063 = # mls). Initially the SO2 will bind to aldehydes,
sugars, proteins, etc. and you won't see the number of ppm of SO2
expressed, but once these compounds become saturated with SO2, you'll
get more of a linear response. The bound SO2 has little effect on
micro-organisms, which is the job of the "free" SO2. The effectiveness
of the SO2 is dependent on the pH of the wine. For a pH of 3 to 4, use
30 to 40 ppm SO2. This is a rough rule of thumb but should serve you
well.
--
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist."
-Archbishop Helder Camara

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull
http://countercurrents.org/roberts020709.htm

Wildbilly wrote:

> In article >,
> "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:
>
>> fishziblu wrote:
>>
>> > it is my second go at making wine,and i've noticed that after the
>> > first fermentation,the ph increases. When i crushed the grapes my
>> > reading was 3.4, however on my first racking the ph has gone up to
>> > 3.9. Is there a reason for this? Should i check the wine more often? i
>> > have added some tartaric now. During the time it spent with a high ph
>> > could it spoil itself?
>> It is common for the pH to rise during or after fermentation. If you did
>> not add any Malo Lactic culture, your grapes probably underwent a ML
>> fermention from the natural culture on the grapes. You did the right
>> thing by adding
>> tartaric. You also need to protect your wine with SO2 and the amount you
>> use depends on the new pH of your wine after you added the tartaric.
>
> Good news is that the pH is just about right for Robert Parker;O)
>
> You need some way of measuring the "free" SO2. The Ripper method calls
> for a starch indicator, sulfuric acid, an Erlenmeyer flask, and a
> burette. Otherwise you risk O.D.ing your wine on SO2. Nothing like 100
> parts per million (ppm) of SO2 in your wine to give you a blinding
> headache.
>
> For the addition, I use 1 lb potassium metabisulfite per 1 gallon of
> water to make a 5% solution.

WHOA, Wildbilly. Are you sure of your units? I believe that one POUND of
Potassium metabisufite would give you a LOT more that a 5% solution. Try
100 GRAMS in one LITER for a standardized solution. This is a 10%
solution. See

http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm

section 19 on the details.

Paul


> Then the formula is ppm of SO2 that you
> want to add, times the gallons added to, times the fudge factor of .063
> equals the number of milliliters of 5% SO2 solution to add (#ppm X
> gallons X .063 = # mls). Initially the SO2 will bind to aldehydes,
> sugars, proteins, etc. and you won't see the number of ppm of SO2
> expressed, but once these compounds become saturated with SO2, you'll
> get more of a linear response. The bound SO2 has little effect on
> micro-organisms, which is the job of the "free" SO2. The effectiveness
> of the SO2 is dependent on the pH of the wine. For a pH of 3 to 4, use
> 30 to 40 ppm SO2. This is a rough rule of thumb but should serve you
> well.

In article >,
"Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:

> Wildbilly wrote:
>
> > In article >,
> > "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:
> >
> >> fishziblu wrote:
> >>
> >> > it is my second go at making wine,and i've noticed that after the
> >> > first fermentation,the ph increases. When i crushed the grapes my
> >> > reading was 3.4, however on my first racking the ph has gone up to
> >> > 3.9. Is there a reason for this? Should i check the wine more often? i
> >> > have added some tartaric now. During the time it spent with a high ph
> >> > could it spoil itself?
> >> It is common for the pH to rise during or after fermentation. If you did
> >> not add any Malo Lactic culture, your grapes probably underwent a ML
> >> fermention from the natural culture on the grapes. You did the right
> >> thing by adding
> >> tartaric. You also need to protect your wine with SO2 and the amount you
> >> use depends on the new pH of your wine after you added the tartaric.
> >
> > Good news is that the pH is just about right for Robert Parker;O)
> >
> > You need some way of measuring the "free" SO2. The Ripper method calls
> > for a starch indicator, sulfuric acid, an Erlenmeyer flask, and a
> > burette. Otherwise you risk O.D.ing your wine on SO2. Nothing like 100
> > parts per million (ppm) of SO2 in your wine to give you a blinding
> > headache.
> >
> > For the addition, I use 1 lb potassium metabisulfite per 1 gallon of
> > water to make a 5% solution.
>
> WHOA, Wildbilly. Are you sure of your units? I believe that one POUND of
> Potassium metabisufite would give you a LOT more that a 5% solution. Try
> 100 GRAMS in one LITER for a standardized solution. This is a 10%
> solution. See
>
> http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm
>
> section 19 on the details.
>
> Paul
>
>
> > Then the formula is ppm of SO2 that you
> > want to add, times the gallons added to, times the fudge factor of .063
> > equals the number of milliliters of 5% SO2 solution to add (#ppm X
> > gallons X .063 = # mls). Initially the SO2 will bind to aldehydes,
> > sugars, proteins, etc. and you won't see the number of ppm of SO2
> > expressed, but once these compounds become saturated with SO2, you'll
> > get more of a linear response. The bound SO2 has little effect on
> > micro-organisms, which is the job of the "free" SO2. The effectiveness
> > of the SO2 is dependent on the pH of the wine. For a pH of 3 to 4, use
> > 30 to 40 ppm SO2. This is a rough rule of thumb but should serve you
> > well.

19. Stock Solutions, third paragraph, fifth line, "Since potassium
metabisulphite is only 57.6% SO2," your 100 grams per liter is a 5.76%
solution. My suggestion was 1 pound of metabisulfite/gallon H2O. A
gallon is eight pounds plus the pound of metabi = 9 lbs. 1/9 =
0.11111111. Mutiply this by the efficency of 57.6%, (1/9) X .576 = 6.4%
SO2. This is wine making, not rocket science. If you are trying for 32
ppm and get 30ppm or 34ppm, it's no big deal.

You'll also notice I was much more bref than
http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm ;O)
--
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist."
-Archbishop Helder Camara

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull
http://countercurrents.org/roberts020709.htm

Wildbilly wrote:

> In article >,
> "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:
>
>> Wildbilly wrote:
>>
>> > In article >,
>> > "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:
>> >
>> >> fishziblu wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > it is my second go at making wine,and i've noticed that after the
>> >> > first fermentation,the ph increases. When i crushed the grapes my
>> >> > reading was 3.4, however on my first racking the ph has gone up to
>> >> > 3.9. Is there a reason for this? Should i check the wine more often?
>> >> > i have added some tartaric now. During the time it spent with a high
>> >> > ph could it spoil itself?
>> >> It is common for the pH to rise during or after fermentation. If you
>> >> did not add any Malo Lactic culture, your grapes probably underwent a
>> >> ML fermention from the natural culture on the grapes. You did the
>> >> right thing by adding
>> >> tartaric. You also need to protect your wine with SO2 and the amount
>> >> you use depends on the new pH of your wine after you added the
>> >> tartaric.
>> >
>> > Good news is that the pH is just about right for Robert Parker;O)
>> >
>> > You need some way of measuring the "free" SO2. The Ripper method calls
>> > for a starch indicator, sulfuric acid, an Erlenmeyer flask, and a
>> > burette. Otherwise you risk O.D.ing your wine on SO2. Nothing like 100
>> > parts per million (ppm) of SO2 in your wine to give you a blinding
>> > headache.
>> >
>> > For the addition, I use 1 lb potassium metabisulfite per 1 gallon of
>> > water to make a 5% solution.
>>
>> WHOA, Wildbilly. Are you sure of your units? I believe that one POUND
>> of
>> Potassium metabisufite would give you a LOT more that a 5% solution. Try
>> 100 GRAMS in one LITER for a standardized solution. This is a 10%
>> solution. See
>>
>> http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm
>>
>> section 19 on the details.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
>> > Then the formula is ppm of SO2 that you
>> > want to add, times the gallons added to, times the fudge factor of .063
>> > equals the number of milliliters of 5% SO2 solution to add (#ppm X
>> > gallons X .063 = # mls). Initially the SO2 will bind to aldehydes,
>> > sugars, proteins, etc. and you won't see the number of ppm of SO2
>> > expressed, but once these compounds become saturated with SO2, you'll
>> > get more of a linear response. The bound SO2 has little effect on
>> > micro-organisms, which is the job of the "free" SO2. The effectiveness
>> > of the SO2 is dependent on the pH of the wine. For a pH of 3 to 4, use
>> > 30 to 40 ppm SO2. This is a rough rule of thumb but should serve you
>> > well.
>
> 19. Stock Solutions, third paragraph, fifth line, "Since potassium
> metabisulphite is only 57.6% SO2," your 100 grams per liter is a 5.76%
> solution. My suggestion was 1 pound of metabisulfite/gallon H2O. A
> gallon is eight pounds plus the pound of metabi = 9 lbs. 1/9 =
> 0.11111111. Mutiply this by the efficency of 57.6%, (1/9) X .576 = 6.4%
> SO2. This is wine making, not rocket science. If you are trying for 32
> ppm and get 30ppm or 34ppm, it's no big deal.
>
> You'll also notice I was much more bref than
> http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm ;O)

The above link takes the 57.6%, you correctly reference, into consideration
when he gives the formulae for additions using the "Stock Solution" he
makes.