![]() To use a refractometer, juice is squeezed on one end and then you look through the sight glass on the other end. If Brix readings a day or two apart during fermentation are unchanged, this is a sign that fermentation could be stalled and that it is time to intervene to get it going again (more on dealing with a stuck fermentation can be found here: ) How to Measure Brixīrix is measured using one of two instruments - a refractometer (pictured above) if measuring grape juice prior to fermentation, or a hydrometer (pictured to the right) if measuring juice during or post fermentation. When a wine is fermented to dryness, the Brix reading will be below 0, alerting you that fermentation is complete. As more sugars are consumed by yeast, the Brix reading will decrease. Once grapes are harvested, measuring Brix in your fermenting must is just as important as a way to track fermentation progress. Harvest decisions should never be made on Brix alone, but having an understanding of the potential alcohol is a key factor in making the decision on when to pull the trigger on harvest. If a grape’s Brix is too low the resulting wine will be low in alcohol and higher in acidity, whereas too high of a Brix reading will result in unbalanced wines in the other direction and potentially lead to fermentation problems if the yeast cannot handle such high alcohol levels. Red wines, which are usually slightly higher in alcohol, are often made from grapes harvested from 22–26 ☋rix, yielding wines in the range of 12.1–14.3% ABV. White grapes are generally harvested between 20–24 ☋rix, which will yield a wine of 11–13.3% alcohol by volume (ABV). Brix can roughly be multiplied by 0.55 to determine the amount of alcohol the resulting wine will have if fermented to dryness. One of the best ways to gauge when to harvest grapes (along with visual clues and taste) is measuring the sugar levels of grapes. Knowing the level of sugars is important throughout winemaking, but let’s start in the vineyard. Although defined specifically as percent sugar (sucrose), all dissolved solids in the juice affect the Brix measurement. For instance, if a juice measures 20 ☋rix, that means the juice is 20% fermentable sugar. The sugar level is determined by the specific gravity of the juice, and because water has a specific gravity of 1, Brix can also be expressed as a percentage of sugar in the liquid. ![]() Brix, a term that may be new to you when you first start making wine, is the percentage of sugar by weight in a liquid. One of the most important measurements a winemaker must stay on top of from the time grapes begin to mature in the vineyard through the end of fermentation is degrees Brix. ![]()
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