Some help with plum wine ph

[Chris-tonic]

Hello everyone. I have tried to find the answer for this question but seem to just run into dead ends. I am currently in the process of making some Santa Rosa plum wine. I have two 5gal buckets right now they are in primary fermentation. I pitched the yeast yesterday and one of them is reacting. My question is I tested the pH level of both of them after I pitched the yeast (blond moment). Now one of them is fermenting and the other is not yet. This was less than 24 hours ago. The pH level was 2.9. My main question is can I add calcium carbonate now? Or would that affect the yeast? Does it matter if I do it during primary or secondary or would it end with the same result?

The other batches of wine that I have made from the same plum have always been sour and tart at the end with a low pH. At that time I was using Lavin D 47. So I would like to try and prevent that from happening.

This batch- one 5 gallon bucket I have lalvin 71b and the other is cote des blancs by red star

 

[jgmillr1]

Yes, a pH of 2.9 is low and many yeasts will struggle with it. Given that you have made this before and found the wine to be tart (sour is different), it suggests that your TA is too high for your tastes. So, you are in luck that you can drop the TA and raise the pH with calcium carbonate. Be careful if you add over 3g/L as the calcium can remain suspended and be removed by upwards of a year of settling or use of filtration.

Wine yeasts like pH over ~3.2 and if you keep the pH < 3.5 you are able to easily control spoilage/oxidation with modest amounts of sulfites. If you plan for your wine to be sweet when it is done, the a TA of 8-10 is fine since you can balance the tartness with sugar. If you want a dry wine, then a TA of 6-7 is OK but that may jack your pH too high if you try to get there. A bench test will help determine how much you can de-acidify. Potassium bicarbonate can also be used but don't add more than 3 g/L or you'll risk a salty taste from the potassium. You will want to re-pitch your yeast after adjusting the pH since they probably didn't make it initially.

Plum's primary acid is malic which the 71B yeast tends to metabolize more than other yeast strains. So, you can use 71B and less deacidifying agents. It makes a nice yeast for fruit wines and roses.

Given that it took several days for you to get a response to your question from this mostly beer-related site, you may want to check out the wine version of this site (Wine Making Talk).

 

[Chris-tonic]

Yes, a pH of 2.9 is low and many yeasts will struggle with it. Given that you have made this before and found the wine to be tart (sour is different), it suggests that your TA is too high for your tastes. So, you are in luck that you can drop the TA and raise the pH with calcium carbonate. Be careful if you add over 3g/L as the calcium can remain suspended and be removed by upwards of a year of settling or use of filtration.

Wine yeasts like pH over ~3.2 and if you keep the pH < 3.5 you are able to easily control spoilage/oxidation with modest amounts of sulfites. If you plan for your wine to be sweet when it is done, the a TA of 8-10 is fine since you can balance the tartness with sugar. If you want a dry wine, then a TA of 6-7 is OK but that may jack your pH too high if you try to get there. A bench test will help determine how much you can de-acidify. Potassium bicarbonate can also be used but don't add more than 3 g/L or you'll risk a salty taste from the potassium. You will want to re-pitch your yeast after adjusting the pH since they probably didn't make it initially.

Plum's primary acid is malic which the 71B yeast tends to metabolize more than other yeast strains. So, you can use 71B and less deacidifying agents. It makes a nice yeast for fruit wines and roses.

Given that it took several days for you to get a response to your question from this mostly beer-related site, you may want to check out the wine version of this site (Wine Making Talk).

Thank you very much for your reply. I will move over to the other site. I did not know there was another one. I got pretty excited because two days ago the 71b Started to ferment pretty good. So both of them are doing great. I do have one more question though. Does it matter when I add the calcium carbonate or potassium? Whether it is primary, secondary or in one of the other racking stages? Which one would be best to do it in. The next time I try this I will definitely treat before primary fermentation but for this batch what are your thoughts?

 

[jgmillr1]

Does it matter when I add the calcium carbonate or potassium? Whether it is primary, secondary or in one of the other racking stages?

You *can* make acid corrections at any stage but it is usually best to make them up-front during the primary fermentation. This seems to better integrate the addition into the wine flavors. Plus it will make your yeast happier.

 

[Chris-tonic]

You *can* make acid corrections at any stage but it is usually best to make them up-front during the primary fermentation. This seems to better integrate the addition into the wine flavors. Plus it will make your yeast happier.

Ok. Thank you!