Malate and Tartrate Contents of Musts and Wines from Grapes Produced in Washington

Abstract

Wines produced from grapes harvested in 1969 and 1970 were analyzed for tartrate and malate content. Musts from the 1970 season were also analyzed. In the 1969 wines tartrate ranged from 0.04 to 0.37% and malate from 0.18 to 0.72%. In the 1970 wines, the respective ranges were 0.11 to 0.52% and 0.15 to 0.78%. In the 1970 musts, tartrate ranged from 0.42 to 1.11% and malate from 0.16 to 0.93%. Generally, in musts the malate concentrations were higher than in the same variety in California (Davis), whereas tartrates were very similar. As expected, tartrate concentration was considerably less in the wines than in the musts while malate was generally only slightly less.