Acidity Levels in Wine

Acidity in wine is one of the four fundamental traits of a good wine (Acidity, Tannin, Alcohol and Sweetness). For a wine to be considered “good,” each of these traits must be in proper proportion or ‘balance’ to each another. If there’s too much of one part, the wine will be off. And, if there’s not enough of a specific component, the wine will be lacking.

So, the acidity of a wine must play its own fine balancing act. While there are no magic “right” numbers for the level of acidity in a wine, there are generally accepted ideals. But, as usual, personal taste is still the simplest determining factor.

As a quick review, pH is a measure of acidity and is a logarithmic scale. So, a pH of 3 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 4 (the lower the pH the more acidic).

Wines lie on the acidic side of the pH spectrum, and most range from 3 to about 4.5 pH. This is compared with water, which is neutral, with a pH of 7 (not acidic), milk at a pH of 6.7, coffee at 4.5-5.0, and lemonade at 2.6 (very acidic).

Acid is important in wine because it acts biologically as a preservative. A red wine with a pH of 3.5 to 4 protects against most spoilage bacteria allowing it to age over years rather than months and allows it to develop deeper more complex flavors. In white wines there is generally stronger acidity with the pH being between 3.0 to 3.5.

In addition to the pH level of a wine, its “Titratable Acidity” or “Total Acidity” (TA) is another way of measuring acidity. And, this is a measure that usually appears on a wine’s Tech Sheet that is generally available on-line from the winery.

Most red wines will have a total acidity of about 0.6 to 0.7% TA that converts to 6 to 7 grams/Liter (g/L) – that is 6 to 7 grams of acid per liter of wine. A white wine will have a higher TA between 6.5 to 7.5 g/L

• Dry White Wines – 6.5 – 7.5g/L

• Sweet White Wine – 7 – 8.5g/L

• Dry Red Wine – 6 – 7g/L

• Sweet Red Wines – 6.5 – 8g/L

• Sherry – 5 – 6g/L

So, keep those taste buds perked up and see if you can detect an acidic wine (e.g., Sauvignon Blanc) over one that is not (e.g., Viognier), or a wine where the acidity is out of balance with its other components. Cheers!

The Four Fundamental Traits of a Good Wine (And How They Must be Balanced)

There are four fundamental traits that comprise a good wine. They are Acidity, Tannin, Alcohol and Sweetness.

For a wine to be considered “good,” each of these traits must be in proper proportion to each another.

This is because each of these four fundamental traits play a vital role in how the wine tastes. If there’s too much of one part, the wine will be off. And, if there’s not enough of a specific component, the wine will be lacking.

Too much acidity will make a wine taste sharp. Too much tannin will make the wine overly astringent. Too much alcohol and the wine will yield a burning sensation in your throat. And, too much residual sugar will make a wine overly sweet.

More specifically, the "hard" components of acidity and tannins typically are used to balance the "soft" components of sweetness and alcohol.

It’s truly is a balancing act for winemakers.

And, a balanced wine is one in which all the fundamental traits work together in harmony.

The Four Fundamental Traits of a Good Wine

There are four fundamental traits that comprise a good wine and they all have to work together in balanced harmony. They are Acidity, Tannin, Alcohol and Sweetness.

Let’s start by looking at Acidity.

A wine’s acidity starts in the vineyard. Grapes that have not yet ripened have high acid levels and low sugar levels. As the grapes ripen, the sugar levels rise and the acid levels fall. Grapes grown in cooler climates typically have higher levels of acid because there’s less warmth and sunshine available to increase grapes’ sugar.

The most prevalent acids found in wine are tartaric acid, malic acid, and citric acid. While you might think that citric acid would be most prevalent in wines such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio that have such great citrus flavors, the truth is that citric acid is found only in very minute quantities in wine grapes. It often has a concentration about 1/20th of tartaric acid. Malic acid can be intentionally created in a wine. When a wine undergoes malolactic fermentation (it’s actually a ‘conversion’ not a fermentation) it converts harsh malic acid, the kind found in green apples, into softer lactic acid which is best known in milk. A wine with high acid will usually taste crisper, be a bit more tart on the palate and result in a refreshing mouthfeel. But, by converting that acid to malic acid results in Chardonnay that has a soft buttery mouthfeel. Most red wines undergo malolactic conversion to soften the acids and give them a smoother mouthfeel.

Finally, acidity allows long-term aging. High acid wines are more likely to improve with time than those with lesser amounts.

So, that’s a quick look at acidity. Next time we’ll take a look at the second fundamental trait of a good wine — tannin. Until then, cheers!

Ever Wonder? Why is a Wine Said to be "Refreshing?"

There are a lot of terms that are thrown around regarding wines. And, one that you may hear about in the warmer months is “refreshing.” But, what exactly does it mean for a wine to be considered refreshing?

Well, in a word, it’s acidity.

Acid is a natural component in a grape. But a wine maker is looking for just the right balance between the grape’s acid level and its sweetness before harvesting the grapes. The sugar in a grape is what is converted to alcohol during fermentation and the acid is what gives the wine it balance, flavor and mouth-feel.

Have you ever noticed after sipping a lemonade that it can make your mouth tingle and give you a mouth- watering sensation? Well, it’s the acidity of the lemon that gives you that mouth-watering sensation. You may also experience a mouth-watering sensation when sipping your favorite cola drink. In both cases, acid is the primary factor in the sensation in your mouth or the “mouth feel.”

So, now that you know that it’s acid that causes a wine to be described as “refreshing,” what are some higher acid wines? In general, they are going to be the light-bodied white wines but rosés and sparkling wines can also be refreshing.

Here’s a brief listing of high-acid white wines:

• Sauvignon Blanc

• Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio)

• Albariño

• Chenin Blanc

• Grüner Veltliner

• Riesling

• Vinho Verde

By no means is this an exhaustive listing of high-acid white wines, but these are the best-known ones.

So, acid is just one of the four fundamental traits in good wines. Next time we’ll take a quick look at the other three. Until then, Cheers!

Ever Wonder What Texture Means in Wines?

When wines get described you’ll often hear terms such as soft, smooth, silky, plush, firm, sharp and round. These are common textures we are familiar with when touching something with our hands. But what do these textures mean in wine?

Simply put, a wine’s texture is how it feels in your mouth. This is called the wine’s mouthfeel.

Textures in red wines are most often directly related to tannins that come from chemical compounds released from a grape’s skins, seeds and stems as well as the oak barrels used to age the wine. The amount and type of tannin leads to varying levels of astringency in wine which is that dry-mouth feeling like drinking a very strong or bitter tea. Grapes such as Pinot Noir are known for producing lower-tannin wines that may be described as ‘silky.’ Merlot tends to have a more ‘plush’ mouthfeel while Cabernet Sauvignon can be described as having ‘firm’ or ‘grippy’ mouthfeels.

The level of acidity in a wine also affects its texture. A Sauvignon Blanc that is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks will be described as having ‘sharp’ texture whereas a Chardonnay that is aged in oak will be described as having a ‘round’ mouthfeel. Red wines may go through Malolactic conversion that changes the more harsh Malic acid into Lactic acid (the acid in milk) to give the wines a more ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ texture.

Finally, other factors such as allowing a wine to remain in contact with its dead yeast, or lees, during aging, affects mouthfeel. Those residual yeast particles can create a ‘creamy’ and ‘rounded’ mouthfeel when stirred into the wine during the aging process.

So, there you go. A wine’s texture is all about mouthfeel. Next time you sip a wine, let is swish around in your mouth before swallowing it. Then, focus on how you mouth feels. That’s the texture of the wine!