Malic Acid wine pH adjuster 100g
Malic Acid 100g — Winemaker's pH Adjuster for Crisp, Balanced Wines
Malic acid is one of the primary naturally occurring acids in grapes, and the go-to choice for winemakers who need to lift acidity, correct a flat or flabby wine, and bring brightness and freshness to the finished glass. At 100g, this food-grade powder gives you precise control over your wine's acidity without guesswork.
Flat wine is forgettable. Malic acid fixes that.
Why Winemakers Reach for Malic Acid
Unlike tartaric acid, malic acid has a softer, fruitier acid character — the kind you taste in fresh green apples — making it ideal for white wines, rosés, and fruit wines where you want vibrancy without a harsh edge. It's particularly useful in warmer climate fruit where natural acidity has been lost during ripening, or in country wines made from low-acid fruits.
- Restores natural-tasting acidity in flat or over-ripe musts
- Softer, fruitier acid profile compared to tartaric
- Food-grade and suitable for both wine and cider
- Fine granular powder for easy, consistent dissolution
- Precise dosing — a little goes a long way
When to Use Malic Acid
Malic acid is best added during must preparation, before fermentation begins, when you can measure and adjust pH accurately. It's well-suited to:
- White and rosé wines are lacking freshness or crispness
- Country wines made from low-acid fruits (apple, pear, stone fruit, berry)
- Cider acidification and flavour balancing
- Sparkling wine base wines require elevated acidity
How to Use
Test your must with a pH meter or titration kit before adding any acid. For wine, a target pH of 3.2–3.5 is typical, though this varies by style. As a rough guide, 1g of malic acid per litre will lower pH by approximately 0.1 units, but always measure and adjust incrementally. Dissolve the required amount in a small volume of must or water before stirring through the batch.
At 100g, this pack is well-suited to small-batch winemaking and country wine production, with enough on hand for multiple adjustments or batches.
Good to Know
Malic acid undergoes malolactic fermentation (MLF) — a secondary bacterial fermentation that converts the sharper malic acid into the softer lactic acid. If you want to preserve the acidity you've added, inhibit MLF with sulphite additions or by using lysozyme. If you're making a red wine and plan to allow MLF, tartaric acid is a more stable alternative as it is not consumed during this process.