Acidity Management in Musts and Wines, Second Edition

Hardcover 150pp, black and white illustration, 2 tables, 6 schematic views of sensory trials, index

Volkner Schneider

Making balanced quality wine is a complex procedure, with a myriad of control processes. Chief among them is acidity management. Though this topic is an essential component of all winemaking texts, covered in lesser to greater degree, Acidity Management in Musts and Wines is the first exhaustive treatment of the subject in print. It is the definitive guide to arguably one of the most delicate operations in the development of a fine wine.

This revised and expanded second edition includes additional chapters such as on acidification by biological means, new material on malolactic fermentation, and a critical discourse on the notion that pH must be lowered ‘at all costs’. The authors first examine the acids’ individual characteristics, their interaction with mineral cations, and the sensory experience resulting therefrom. Then they describe acidification and deacidification procedures and how to conduct preliminary sensory trials. Lastly, the book delves deeply into the principles of crystal stabilization.

Volker Schneider was a lecturer of enological chemistry at Geisenheim University (Germany) and founder of the international consulting firm Schneider-Oenologie, which specialized in quality control, industry consulting, and research. He has authored several scientific papers and more than 450 technical articles.

Sarah Troxell is a chemist accredited by the American Chemical Society and for more than two decades has been the winemaker at Galen Glen Winery, where they specialize in aromatic white wines – Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer.

"Volker Schneider is a genius who understands winemaking from the inside out. He can deliver easy-to-use content with the amazing wisdom of the academic, he is. His knowledge in deliberate must oxidation has allowed me to dive deeper into white winemaking and dig into chemical aspects that I would have otherwise overlooked. As a practitioner I frequently use Volker Schneider’s literature, and “Acidity Management” is one of my books of reference."--Frederico Vilar Gomes, Winemaker and Consultant, Lisboa, Portugal

"Acidity Management has been a milestone of my technical background about acidity. I’ve read it many times and still I can find great advices in it. The text is fluent and it is really a book I recommend for all winemakers and enology students. White Wine Enology is my guide for white winemaking, I tend to re-read the book a month prior to harvest in order to refresh winemaking protocols and techniques. The part about phenols in whites is amazing. This trilogy should represent the solid background for every winemaker around the world. It is modern, fluent, and practical."--Alberto Guolo, winemaker, Casas del Bosque, Casablanca, Chile

"Volker Schneider’s excellent tutorial-style series exemplify his unique approach to consulting and academic work: a balance of leading-edge theory and practice. Compared to the depth of Advanced Winemaking Strategies for Fine Wines, other enology texts barely scratch the surface of the topic or neglect its practical implementation in the winery. As a professor of enology from the birthplace of winemaking, I like to use these books in my teaching and have added them to the list of recommended literature in our syllabus." --Dr. Davit Chichua. Professor of Enology, Agricultural University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia

"As a quality conscious winemaker I try to follow new oenological research developments which I believe can allow my wines to further evolve, however its sheer volume and the quite often contradictory terroir and cultivar-specific nature of results make much of it very difficult to apply with confidence. In my view these books address this issue and are unique in holistically combining Volker Schneider's deep theoretical insight with real-world data born of his research-winemaking and consultancy to illustrate its practical application. At points this holistic approach sometimes focusses on areas that are the subject of widespread and embedded misconceptions. Importantly, the author understands the reality of small to medium scale producers and proposes practical techniques within the resources of the winery to base their decision-making upon."--Gunther Strub, Weingut Walter Strub Winery, Germany