Acids

Question 1

What are the principle acids in wine?

Answer 1

• Tartaric and malic- make up 2/3rds of acid in wine (in warm climates). Comes from grape itself.
• Other acids= acetic and lactic- produced in ferm/mlf.

Question 2

What is volatile acidity and what does it do?

Answer 2

• acetic acid= vinegar smell
• low concentration in all wines- fault if excess
• acetic acid heats with alcohol in wine, becomes Ethyl acetate (nail polish remover smell)- fault if excess

Question 3

What acidity contribute to wine?

Answer 3

• structure of wine- refreshing
• should be in balance with fruit concentration and residual sugar

Question 4

How does high acid make the palate seem?

Answer 4

Leaner

Question 5

How does excessive acid make the palate seem?

Answer 5

Taste tart

Question 6

How does lack of acid make the palate seem?

Answer 6

Flabby

Question 7

Levels of individual acids affect the taste in wine. How does high levels of malic acid affect the taste?

Answer 7

Gives it a firm acidity, and contributes to the style. eg. a cool climate chardonnay that has had malo blocked.

Question 8

Wine with a high acidity has a high or low PH?

Answer 8

Low

Question 9

How is acidity measured?

Answer 9

-‘Total acidity’= sum of all the acids
-Result= equivalent of grams per litre in tartaric acid
-Total acidity typically- 5.5-8 g/l

Question 10

Which range are wines typically in for PH?

Answer 10

-3-4 PH
-lower the number, more concentrated the acidity
-PH of 3, 10 times more acidic than 4

Question 11

What does a low PH do to a wine?

Answer 11

-increases microbiological stability
- increases colour in red wines
- increases effectiveness of SO2
- enhances ability to age well