Acidity

Acidity is the freshness that makes a wine taste alive. Grapes naturally contain various acids, and these carry over into the finished wine, where they give that tart, juicy impression you feel along the sides of your tongue. Acidity is not a flaw to be hidden, but a cornerstone of a wine's balance. Without it, a wine seems flat and dull, while too much acidity can make it sharp and hard to drink.

Acidity matters a great deal for what you experience in the glass. It gives the wine its crispness and makes it refreshing, and it works beautifully with food because it lifts and cleanses the palate, a bit like a squeeze of lemon over a dish. Fresh white wines and rosés typically have noticeable, lively acidity, while warmer climates often produce softer, rounder wines. Grapes such as Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc are known for holding on to a distinct acidity.

You can recognise acidity by the way it makes your teeth and jaws water, much like when you taste a green apple or a lemon. A common misunderstanding is that acidity is the same as sweetness, or as sourness in a negative sense. In reality, it is the balance between acidity, sweetness, fruit and possibly tannin that decides whether a wine feels harmonious and comfortable.