A winemaker measures the sugar content of the grapes with a refractometerA winemaker measures the sugar content of the grapes with a refractometer

Industry jargon


Visual refractometerVisual refractometer

…a measuring device for a grape’s sugar content and therefore the wine’s potential alcohol content.

This information helps winemakers to determine when to harvest the grapes. Most of the time, they use refractometers, which calculate the sugar content in grape juice via light refraction. Germany and Switzerland specify must weight using the Oechsle scale. Austria and Italy, on the other hand, use KMW units (Klosterneuburg Must Weight Scale).


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