These three components of wine have a very close relationship to each other and account for most of a wine’s taste. The Brix/sugar content of wine yields ethanol, which masks bitterness, imparts sweetness, creates body, and influences aromatics. A wine with low alcohol would taste thin and watery, whereas high alcohol wine tastes hot and overpowering.
Acidity and the subsequent pH create freshness in wine, preserve aromatics, decrease bitterness, and make wine food-friendly. Wine’s acid levels can accentuate or diminish the other flavors present. Think of it like lemonade without the proper proportion of lemon juice to sugar. If there is not enough lemon juice, the drink tastes too sweet. If there is too much, then it tastes sour. The balance of wine comes from the stylistic choices of alcohol content, acidity, and tannins.
General guidelines for how a region/grape/style can affect these three elements are:
Cooler temperatures retain more acidity in the grapes but provide lower Brix
Warmer temperatures lose more acidity but can develop higher Brix
The varietal grown can considerably impact acidity levels and how early the fruit ripens (thus, how much time they have in the growing season). Petit Manseng has notoriously high acid levels and thus ripens very late in the season.
The winemaker's style and decision of when to pick significantly impacts the varying levels of Brix and acidity. For example, if they pick early or underripe, the grapes could retain a lot of acidity even if grown in a warm climate.
To help demonstrate how these three components of wine are linked, I’ve included two hypothetical examples of a potential grape analysis on opposite spectrums:
Low Brix/ High Acid/ Low pH
Example numbers: 19°Brix, 12g/L TA, 3.10 pH
Cool growing regions allow for these characteristics and are typical of sparkling wines. The high acid is desired for the bright and acidic taste of sparkling wines while the low Brix would yield a lower abv. This is ideal because the secondary fermentation that most sparkling wines go through increases the alcohol slightly.
High Brix/ Low Acid/ High pH
Example numbers: 25°Brix, 4g/L TA, 3.70 pH
A vine can naturally impart enough sugar to reach around 25°Brix; anything past 25° results from dehydration. Most 25°Brix wines can only be achieved in warm and dry climates with a long growing season. The resulting wine would be around 15% abv and likely lack acid. The result can be a bold, powerful wine style that should be consumed relatively soon after bottling.
Growers and winemakers can also influence the balance of sugar and acid present in wine. For example, regenerative agriculture methods like cover crops and animal integration that build soil health have been shown by David Montgomery to increase vitamin C levels, the precursor of tartaric acid, in crops. At Dodon, we have seen a 50% increase in titratable acidity since implementing these techniques. These methods also reduce Brix and, thus, alcohol and are likely to help mitigate the effects of climate change-induced warming.
In the cellar, many Chardonnay makers use a naturally occurring bacterial fermentation to convert malic acid to lactic acid, resulting in a smoother, fuller-bodied, less tart wine.
