Wine Chemistry
pH, Total Acidity (TA) and wine:
pH and acidity are important properties of wine, and accurate measured results for both are needed to make intelligent decisions during wine production.
Low pH has several important effects, which include making sulphur dioxide more effective as an antimicrobial agent, inhibiting bacterial growth and improving the taste. A final pH of about 3.4 - 3.5 generally provides the most balanced flavour for red wines; optimal pH for white wines is slightly lower.
Because wine contains a mixture of acids (mainly tartaric, plus some malic, citric and lactic), each with different pKas, pH alone cannot express the acidity of wine. For this reason, titratable acidity (TA) is also measured. TA is calculated from the amount of NaOH standard required to titrate 10mL of wine to a pre-determined pH (usually 8.2), after first removing carbonic acid which may also be present. TA represents the amount of acid (usually expressed as tartaric acid) that is present in the wine. Target values for TA are in the range 7 - 12 g/L. Measured TA values are especially important before making pH adjustments to wine during production.
Sirius Vinotrate instrument offers a complete solution for fast, accurate and reproducible measurement of pH and TA.
New Scientific Paper Published
07.12.09
New paper from Sirius explains how our solubility measurements work, and introduces new methods for evaluating supersaturation.
New Scientific Paper Published
01.07.10
New paper - Study of pH-dependent solubility of organic bases. Revisit of Henderson-Hasselbalch relationship.
Physchem Forum 9, Barcelona
17.09.10
Sirius will exhibit at and sponsor the next Physchem Forum meeting in Barcelona
Contracting & Outsourcing 2010, NJ, USA
23.09.10
Sirius will exhibit at this pharma outsourcing meeting in New Brunswick, NJ