Wine Acid Adjustment Calculator

Work out wine acid adjustment instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Wine Acid Adjustment Calculator

Acidifying with tartaric acid raises titratable acidity gram for gram, so 1 g/L of tartaric raises TA by 1 g/L expressed as tartaric. Deacidifying with potassium bicarbonate needs about 0.67 g per litre per gram of acidity removed, and precipitates potassium bitartrate which must be cold stabilised out.

Formulas

Acidification

Tartaric acid (g/L) = target acidity - current acidity

Deacidification

Potassium bicarbonate (g/L) = acidity reduction x 0.67

Worked example

With the default values below, Wine Acid Adjustment Calculator returns Addition Required of 1.5000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Wine Volumeminimum 0 L: 1,000 L
Current Titratable Acidityminimum 0 g/L as tartaric: 5 g/L as tartaric
Target Titratable Acidityminimum 0 g/L as tartaric: 6.5 g/L as tartaric
Adjustmentone of Acidify with tartaric acid, Deacidify with potassium bicarbonate: Acidify with tartaric acid

Results

Addition Required: 1.5000
Addition Rate: 1.5000
Acidity Change: 1.500
Target Acidity: 6.500

Step by step

1Values used
2Acidification
3Deacidification
4Addition Required= 1.5000
5Addition Rate= 1.5000
6Acidity Change= 1.500
7Target Acidity= 6.500

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Permitted acidification and deacidification agents and maximum levels are set by wine law. Confirm the rules for your region.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Permitted acidification and deacidification agents and maximum levels are set by wine law. Confirm the rules for your region.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should acid be added before or after fermentation?

Before, for better integration and to protect against spoilage during fermentation. Post-fermentation additions taste sharper and less integrated, though they allow finer adjustment.

Why can deacidification not be pushed far?

Removing more than about 2-3 g/L raises pH sharply, strips fruit character and can leave a salty or soapy note from residual potassium. Double salt or malolactic routes are used for larger corrections.