Chemical modeling for pH prediction of acidified musts with gypsum and tartaric acid in warm regions

Winemaking of musts acidified with up to 3 g/L of gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O) and tartaric acid, both individually and in combination, as well as a chemical modeling have been carried out to study the behaviour of these compounds as acidifiers. Prior to fermentation gypsum and tartaric acid reduce the pH by 0.12 and 0.17 pH units/g/L, respectively, but while gypsum does not increase the total acidity and reduces buffering power, tartaric acid shows the opposite behaviour. When these compounds were used in combination, the doses of tartaric acid necessary to reach a suitable pH were reduced. Calcium concentrations increase considerably in gypsum-acidified must, although they fell markedly after fermentation over time. Sulfate concentrations also increased, although with doses of 2 g/L they were lower than the maximum permitted level (2.5 g/L). Chemical modeling gave good results and the errors in pH predictions were less than 5% in almost all cases.