We can address the second point above concerning the timing of the additions using the same construction analogy. Instead of a lovely house, maybe we end up with a storage shed! The bottom line is, if we don’t have all of the materials we need in the correct amount, then we are limited in what we can ultimately build. However, if the must is not in balance, it means that we may not have all of the required materials to build the structure we might have hoped to end up with. To use a construction analogy, if the must is in balance, it essentially has all of the required raw materials to build a complete, well-made structure that’s up to code. During the complex transformation from juice to wine, wine will continually put itself together using whatever materials are available in the must. The act of fermentation is an act of creation and construction. These are actually interconnected let’s take a look at how, starting with a balanced must makes a balanced (and better) wine. Therefore, when any of the pH, TA and ✫rix values for our must come in over or under our ideal ranges, we should takes steps to correct them back into the desired ranges.įor those of you who feel that they may not want to bother with the adjusting the must and instead correct the wine once the fermentation is over, here are two reasons why you may want to reconsider that approach - a balanced must makes a balanced (and better) wine and the ideal time to make an adjustment to the wine is during its brief infancy before it has actually become wine. Depending on the region, varietal, grower, vintage, etc., your fruit may test to have a pH anywhere from 3.0–4.2, a TA from 4.5–10.0 g/L, and sugar ranging from 15–28 ✫rix! Our ideal target for the pH, TA and ✫rix is actually somewhere roughly in the middle of these ranges. However, make wine long enough and pretty quickly you will see that all grapes are not created equal. Ideally, when our fruit hits the destemmer-crusher, we would like to see each of the pH, TA and ✫rix values test somewhere within these desired ranges. Red and white wines each have a generally recognized range of numbers for the pH, TA and ✫rix that are known to make a nice wine (Red wine: pH 3.4–3.7, TA 6.0–7.0 g/L, 22–25 ✫rix. More importantly, it is the way the pH/TA, structure and sugars are balanced before fermentation begins that really makes or breaks a finished wine. Each of these elements has a direct influence on the quality of the finished wine individually. There are three elements that are critical to have balanced in a must: pH/TA, structure and sugar.
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