Page "Winemaking" Paragraph 59

° Brix is one measure of the soluble solids in the grape juice and represents not only the sugars but also includes many other soluble substances such as salts, acids and tannins, sometimes called Total Soluble Solids ( TSS ).

However, sugar is by far the compound in greatest quantity and so for all practical purposes these units are a measure of sugar level.

The level of sugar in the grapes is important not only because it will determine the final alcohol content of the wine, but also because it is an indirect index of grape maturity.

Brix ( Bx for short ) is measured in grams per hundred grams of solution, so 20 Bx means that 100 grams of juice contains 20gm of dissolved compounds.

There are other common measures of sugar content of grapes, Specific gravity, Oechsle ( Germany ) and Beaume ( France ).

The French Baumé ( Be ° or Bé ° for short ) has the benefit that one Be ° gives approximately one percent alcohol.

Also one Be ° is equal to 1. 8 Brix, that is 1. 8 grams of sugar per one hundred grams.

This helps with deciding how much sugar to add if the juice is low in sugar: to achieve one percent alcohol add 1. 8 grams per 100 ml or 18 grams per liter.

This process is called chaptalization and is illegal in some countries ( but perfectly acceptable for the home winemaker.

) Generally, for the making of dry table wines a Bx of between 20 and 25 is desirable ( equivalent to Be ° of 11 to 14.