I like wine that works with food. Some wine critics don't seem to care whether a wine works with food, they simply love to praise wines that have huge gobs of flavor.

Nothing wrong with that. Flavor is a good thing. But given a choice, I'd pick a wine with the right acid structure for the meal I'm planning to consume.

This column is all about acidity in wine, and no, you needn't tell me this is a tricky subject sure to turn people off. But the fact is that all wines -- white, red, ros, sparkling, dessert and everything else (what else is there?) -- have acidity, and the level of acidity should be balanced by the fruit.

Too much acidity, and the wine would be so tart it wouldn't be pleasing; too little acidity, and the wine becomes flat, dull and unappealing with food.

That's why I like wines of balance. For instance, I love German rieslings, which typically have a healthy dose of residual sugar. But they also usually have the proper acid levels, so they aren't cloying.

For example, even though the stylish 2004 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett ($20) is relatively sweet in the first sip, after you swallow, the wine leaves your mouth tasting a bit of tartness, making the wine perfect with spicy Asian or Indian fare.

The same goes for red wines, but here, another factor comes into play: alcohol. The higher the alcohol level in a wine, the more your palate gets the impression of sweetness, not to mention the "heat" it generates.

So how, you may ask, can you determine the acid level of a wine you're thinking of buying? Good question, since almost no wineries volunteer that information to consumers. One way is to log on to a winery's website to seek the technical details of a wine, but that's not easy to do when you're sitting in a restaurant perusing the wine list.

Moreover, even if you could find out that the total acidity (as tartaric acid) of a wine is 0.48 and the pH is 3.9, what does that mean? Is this a tart wine or a wine so soft it'd be terrible with a steak?

Without getting too technical, here is a quick look at acid and pH in wine:

White wines: The typical range of acid in white wines is from 0.5 percent to about 0.8 percent, and the pH range is between 3.1 and 3.5. Usually higher acidity and lower pH levels are found in the same wine, so a tart wine would have an acidity of about 0.65 and a pH of 3.2 or 3.15. A soft wine would have a lower acidity, say 0.44, and a pH that's higher, say 3.5.

Red wines: The numbers here are often higher. A tart red wine would have an acid level of about 0.75 with a pH of 3.45; a soft red wine would have a lower acid of, say, 0.52 and a pH of 3.7.

Which wines go best with which foods? Books have been written about this, but in general, crisp white wines such as New Zealand sauvignon blanc, sancerre, muscadet, and most pinot grigios go well with grilled seafood, oysters and other delicate foods. And soft, rich, buttery white wines like chardonnay and viognier work best with rich foods and creamy sauces.

Of the reds, a tart wine that works with tomato-laced dishes is Chianti. California cabernet sauvignon is hearty and tannic and works nicely with roasted red meats. More delicate meat (such as rare roast beef) is better with a gentler red, such as pinot noir.

The pH levels of most red wines have climbed higher and higher in the last decade, meaning that fewer reds are great with food. We now see pH levels in the 3.8 to 4.0 range, which can leave wines tasting soft and not very appealing with food.

Obviously, this is a complex and controversial subject, one that's hard to deal with in so short a space. For details, e-mail me at danberger@VintageExperiences.com.

Wine of the Week: 2003 Rutherford Vintners Merlot, Napa Valley ($14) -- a medium-bodied red wine that has a nice tea leaf, cherry and sagebrush aroma, generous fruit and softer tannins. It should work well with hamburgers, roast chicken and other simpler foods.

Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County. Berger publishes a weekly newsletter on wine and can be reached at danberger@VintageExperiences.com.