Burning Chardonnay Acidity Questions That Must Be Answered

All wine has acidity. This is because grapes are acidic, yet some wines do have more acidic content than others! Generally speaking, white wines such as Chardonnay have more acidic content than red wines. 

Malolactic fermentation is a process in which bacterial fermentation is denoted, converting malic acid to lactic acid. In simpler terms, it is a process utilized to reduce the acidic content of wines.

Red wine distributors tend to utilize this process effectively. However, white wine distributors are said to deliberately leave out the process in an attempt to manage the acidity levels.

Is Chardonnay high or low in acidity compared to other white wines?

When comparing acidic levels in Chardonnay and white wines in general, Chardonnay is considerably low in acidity. This is mainly because white wine grape strains also vary in acidity levels, some being lower than others. One white wine grape that tends to carry the lowest acid content just happens to be Chardonnay.

While there are different types of acidity in common beverages every day, they all have a place on a scale. Just to get more of an idea of how acidic white wine is compared to other beverages, here’s a list of beverages starting from least acidic to most acidic:

1. Water
2. Coffee
3. Red Wines
4. White Wines
5. Lemonade
6. Coca-Cola

How about compared to red wine?

Although there is a slight overlapping between red and white wines, red wines generally contain a lighter acidic content than white wines. As stated before, red wines are processed through a malolactic fermentation process.

Which ultimately helps to reduce acidity levels in some wines. Red wines carry an average pH level of 3.5 and 3.8, whereas white wines carry pH levels of 3.1 to 3.4, making white wines more acidic than red wines.

How will Chardonnay affect me if I have acid reflux?

Acid reflux happens when weakness or relaxation occurs in the lower esophageal sphincter. It’s best maintained when healthy habits are formed. Such as staying at a healthy weight and avoiding foods and drinks that trigger acid reflux, which can be hard if you’re a wine lover and just want a glass of Chardonnay.

Consuming Chardonnay, or any kind of wine, will increase the amount of acid produced in the stomach. Which, unfortunately, will pose a risk of making your acid reflux even worse than how it started. It’s best to avoid wines and other acidic beverages and foods until your reflux is under control, especially with the common symptoms associated with acid reflux.

Final Thoughts on Chardonnay’s Acidity

Chardonnay is low in acidic content compared to other white wines because its wine grape strain is also one of the lowest white wine grape strains existing. Red wines, however, contain less acidity than an average white wine. This is due to a specific fermentation process that red wines go through that lowers acidity levels.

If you have acid reflux, it’s best to simply avoid wine in general. All wines contain some sort of acidity level, and none of them will help acid reflux. If they do anything for acid reflux, it would be making it worse.