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Acid Addition Calculator

Dose tartaric acid to hit your target acidity.

How it is calculated

The calculation is one multiplication: grams = (target TA − current TA) × volume, with both acidities in g/L (as tartaric acid) and the volume in litres. The gap in g/L is the amount of acid that must be added to each litre, and multiplying by the volume converts that to a total mass in grams, printed with two decimals. The tool only raises acidity: if the target is equal to or below the current TA, or the volume is zero, it returns no result. The current TA may be 0, the target must be above 0. It does not model changes in pH or the effect of the addition on taste, so a trial in a small sample is sensible.

Worked example

You have 23 litres of must with a measured TA of 5.2 g/L and you want 6.5 g/L. The gap is 6.5 − 5.2 = 1.3 g/L. Multiply by the volume: 1.3 × 23 = 29.90 g of tartaric acid. In practice you would weigh the powder, dissolve it in a little of the must and stir it back in, then re-measure TA.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering TA as a percentage or in g/100 mL. The fields are g/L, so a reading of 0.65 % has to be typed as 6.5.
  • Putting the target in the current TA box, or the reverse. The tool refuses a target at or below the current value, because it can only add acid, never remove it.
  • Typing the volume in US gallons. The field is litres, and one gallon is about 3.79 litres, so 5 gallons is roughly 19.
  • Entering a TA measured as sulphuric acid, as some meters or kits do. The result assumes tartaric equivalents, so the grams will be off if the units differ.
  • Adding the whole dose at once. The figure is arithmetic, not a taste test, so add part, mix, remeasure and taste before committing the rest.

About this calculator

Titratable acidity (TA) in must or finished wine determines how tart, balanced and microbiologically stable it tastes and ages — too low and the wine reads flat and is more vulnerable to spoilage organisms, too high and it tastes sharp or sour. Tartaric acid is the standard addition in winemaking because it’s the dominant natural acid in grapes and, unlike citric or malic acid, doesn’t get metabolized away by malolactic fermentation, so an addition made pre-fermentation stays effective through to bottling.

Home winemakers and small commercial producers measure current TA (usually via titration) and compare it to a style-appropriate target — reds are typically balanced lower than whites — then dose tartaric acid to close the gap, most often at the must stage before fermentation starts, since additions are easier to integrate before alcohol and tannin structure are locked in.

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