Deacidification Details

Adding acid is not always the answer, sometimes you might want to reduce the acidity. The three (main) agents of wine deacidification are Potassium Carbonate (K₂CO₃), Potassium Bicarbonate (KHCO₃) and Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃).

Potassium Carbonate and Potassium Bicarbonate are best suited for high TA, low pH juices or wines. Adding K₂CO₃ or KHCO₃ encourages bitartrate crystallization (cold stabilization), so additions should be made prior to cold stabilizing.

Calcium Carbonate is best suited for high TA, high pH juices or wines. CaCO₃ additions should be made following the double salt procedure in which the entire amount of CaCO₃ is added in stages to a portion of the total juice or wine volume. This encourages precipitation of the Calcium Tartrate salts which would otherwise form later, perhaps in bottle.