I pulled a sample from each of the two kegs today and brought it home for testing. The wine in both was pretty clear, but one is noticeably darker than the other as a result of the miracle we performed after the last racking.

Here are the results of the tests:

Keg 1 (the darker one): pH 3.43, 50ppm free SO2
Keg 2 (the lighter one): pH 3.40, 50ppm free SO2

These numbers are good.

Both taste about the same, although the lighter colored one tastes a bit thinner…which might be good, because both still have a very abrasive grapefruit finish. The sugar we add before bottling and 4-6 months of bottle aging mellowed it out last year, and I’m sure it will be the same this time. There’s nothing “wrong” with the wine right now, and so I’m happy!

One thing I’m going to experiment with this weekend is trying to smooth out the bitterness and clarify the wine by fining it with skim milk or egg whites. Here’s a short article about how this works.

At this point, I’m thinking we’re going to bottle in April or early May