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Lactic acid

Acids and deacidifiers

Gentle acidity for fine-tuning, especially after malolactic.

Typical dose

Bench-trial to taste; a soft acid, weaker per gram than tartaric.

When to add it

Finished wine, for a small final lift.

In practice

The soft acid malolactic itself produces, so adding a little back is the least jarring way to lift a wine that was deacidified a shade too far. It will not give the crunch of tartaric, which is exactly the point.