Of course, you read the January Cellarmasters newsletter and have:

• Completed Malolactic Fermentation
• Adjusted your Sulfite Levels
• Treated for The Stinkies (H2S/Mercaptans)
• Corrected your Acidity/pH with Tartaric Acid

That leaves you with two more things to do, NOW!

• Gelatin Fine for Coarse Tannins
• Cold Stabilize, both reds and whites

Unfortunately, most of us forget these last two, very important cellar chores. They need to be done and done now, not later.

Prevalent, UC DAVIS, wisdom shows that tannins and color pigments have "polymerized" by four (4) months after crush. That means that tannins have linked up, polymerized, with the anthocyanin color pigments. This "co-pigmentation" results in a stable color complex.

Removing tannins with gelatin, a protein fining agent, after this point can destabilize your color. The result can be color loss.

Gelatin should be used early in the game, within the four month window, to knock down excess, young, short-chained, non-polymerized, harsh tannins.

All reds, even those that you may want a bit tannic, benefit from a gelatin fining in the fall.

You can then fine tune an astringent, dry, slightly tannic mouthfeel with gentler protein fining agents like casein (skim milk) and/or egg whites. Do this about one month prior to bottling.

Whites with too much skin or barrel tannin can also be fined, anytime, with gelatin and then fine tuned with casein and/or isinglass one month prior to bottling.

Gelatin Dosage: 1/4 - 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons depending on harshness/bitterness.

Prepare as follows: Soak gelatin in smallest amount of cold water for 15 minutes. Warm to dissolve. Add warm, mixing thoroughly. Either add while racking or inject through the wine with a syringe. Avoid oxidation by maintaining proper SO2 levels and not aerating the wine. Taste wine, adding another dose if still too harsh from tannins.

Now, while the cellar is cold, is the most convenient time to drop out excess tartaric acid.

If, after coming to the "Post-Crush Clinic", you were advised to adjust down your pH, you soon noted that your wine now tasted way too acidic. Don't panic, all that excess tartaric acid can be chilled out, leaving

the wine tasting balanced with an healthy pH.

Tartaric acid is unstable under cold conditions and wants to fall out, leaving the wine softer and less acidic. So, it's time to chill your reds and whites to make the wines "Cold Stabile" as well as less acidic. What precipitates out onto the sides and bottom of your carboy or barrel is crème of tartar/potassium bi-tartrate.

This reduces the acidity and also lowers your pH. Yes, I know, high school chemistry says that when acidity goes down, pH goes up. Let me explain:

H2Ta (Tartaric Acid) + K (Potassium) = KHTa (Potassium Bi-Tartrate) + H

That H (Hydrogen Ion) is what a pH meter tests for the more hydrogen ions, the lower the pH.

High pH wines, above 3.6 in reds and 3.3 in whites, require higher levels of SO2, brown easily, are more susceptible to biological spoilage, and taste somewhat flat and dull, all be it more accessible when young.

When adding tartaric acid, be conservative. You now know that the pH will drop as the excess acid also rops out. Therefore, acidify to a pH slightly above your target pH. For example, let's says that you had a Zinfandel with an unacceptably high pH of 4.0 and you want is to be 3.5 by bottling time. You would have to acidify with enough tartaric acid to raise the acidity/lower the pH by 5 points (4.0 - 3.5 = 5). However, when you chill out the excess acidity, the pH will lower well beyond your target of 3.5. The exact endpoint depends on the amount of tartaric acid that drops out and the amount of potassium ions in the acid pool. Therefore, now, while the weather cooperates (assuming that M/L is complete and that you have acidified with tartaric acid to lower the pH):

• Get your storage area as cold as possible for as long as possible. (Wine can drop to 28*F before freezing)
• Seed with crème of tartar, after precipitating out as much tartaric as possible.
• Distribute the crème of tartar throughout the entire wine, without aerating.
• After chilling, warm to room temperature, 50*F+, and rack.

If your acidity is still too high, the wine tasting too tart, the pH too low, adjust with Potassium Carbonate. You will have to chill again to avoid tartrate deposits.

So, here are your two cellar chores to finish right away, before the weather warms up and before you potentially de-stabilize you color.

John E. Daume, CEO/Winemaker, The Daume Winery, Camarillo

the acidity/lower the pH by 5 points (4.0 - 3.5 = 5). However, when you chill out the excess acidity, the pH will lower well beyond your target of 3.5. The exact endpoint depends on the amount of tartaric acid that drops out and the amount of potassium ions in the acid pool. Therefore, now, while the weather cooperates (assuming that M/L is complete and that you have acidified with tartaric acid to lower the pH):

• Get your storage area as cold as possible for as long as possible. (Wine can drop to 28*F before freezing)
• Seed with crème of tartar, after precipitating out as much tartaric as possible.
• Distribute the crème of tartar throughout the entire wine, without aerating.
• After chilling, warm to room temperature, 50*F+, and rack.

If your acidity is still too high, the wine tasting too tart, the pH too low, adjust with Potassium Carbonate. You will have to chill again to avoid tartrate deposits.

So, here are your two cellar chores to finish right away, before the weather warms up and before you potentially de-stabilize you color.

John E. Daume, CEO/Winemaker, The Daume Winery, Camarillo