Hi. when I was younger I used to make wine from wild grape growing here
in eastern Canada. Most of the time , it ended up tasting horrible....

I would like to try it again now but this time with better knowledge of
winemaking...

this grape I'm talking about is very acid and very concentrated. The
receipe I had called for a lot of water and sugar and yeast...

I now realize that having the optimal acidity in the must is a
must...hehe

can someone point out some good website or article explaning how and
what to mesure when mesuring Acidity in a red must please? what are
optimal numbers?

thanks for your time

stef,Montreal.

> ... can someone point out some good website or article explaning how and
> what to mesure when mesuring Acidity in a red must please? what are
> optimal numbers?
>
> stef,Montreal.

There are two ways to measure acidity. Titratable acidity is usually
expressed as grams per liter, and is fairly easy to measure with an
inexpensive titration kit (using phenolphthalein indicator, and a
standardized solution of sodium hydroxide). In the US and Canada, this
is generally measured as if all the acids in the wine were tartaric
acid. Typical values for a dry red would be from 6 to 7 g/l (or 0.60
to 0.70% acid).

The other way to measure acidity is pH. This requires a pH meter of
some sort, and can be a bit more confusing, as the pH scale is
logarithmic (not linear) and is affected by temperature and other
chemicals in the must or wine. A lot of serious amateur winemakers end
up with a pH meter (as well as acid titration kits). Typical pH values
for wines would be between 3.2 and 3.6, roughly. Wines with higher pH
(lower acidity) are at increased risk of spoilage.

If you are just starting out, start with a titration kit. Generally
they come with instructions. You can also read Lum Eisenman's
discussions of various types of tests (chapter 23) in The Home
Winemaker's Manual, at
http://www.geocities.com/lumeisenman/contents.html

Happy fermenting --

Doug

Doug wrote:
> There are two ways to measure acidity. Titratable acidity is usually
> expressed as grams per liter, and is fairly easy to measure with an
> inexpensive titration kit (using phenolphthalein indicator, and a
> standardized solution of sodium hydroxide). In the US and Canada, this
> is generally measured as if all the acids in the wine were tartaric
> acid. Typical values for a dry red would be from 6 to 7 g/l (or 0.60
> to 0.70% acid).
>
> The other way to measure acidity is pH. This requires a pH meter of
> some sort, and can be a bit more confusing, as the pH scale is
> logarithmic (not linear) and is affected by temperature and other
> chemicals in the must or wine. A lot of serious amateur winemakers end
> up with a pH meter (as well as acid titration kits). Typical pH values
> for wines would be between 3.2 and 3.6, roughly. Wines with higher pH
> (lower acidity) are at increased risk of spoilage.
>
> If you are just starting out, start with a titration kit. Generally
> they come with instructions. You can also read Lum Eisenman's
> discussions of various types of tests (chapter 23) in The Home
> Winemaker's Manual, at
> http://www.geocities.com/lumeisenman/contents.html
> Happy fermenting --
> Doug
____________________________________

Thanks for your Help Doug. looks like a really good website for someone
like me...

I also find this on PH

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...60f8886120 28

regards

stef.

Ben Rotter has a very good website for home winemakers too.

Try this: http://www.brsquared.org/wine/

Joe

> I also find this on PH