2000-12-21
Has anyone ever heard of this unit (degrees Oechsle) before: Below is a
description:
Each of these quality levels is related to the specific gravity of the grape
juice at the time of harvesting. The sugar content of the grape juice is
measured in degrees Oechsle: The higher the Oechsle level, the higher the
sugar content and thus the potential alcohol before fermentation. At
Tafelwein, Landwein and, often, QbA levels, the grapes contain so little
sugar (due to lack of sunshine or unripe grapes) that the grape juice needs
to be chaptilised in order to achieve any acceptable level of alcohol, i.e.
the wine must be fermented dry and then S�ssreserve (sterilised grape juice)
may be added to achieve sweeter styles. A rule of thumb is that 240g sugar
per hectolitre grape juice converts to 1g alcohol per litre of wine. QmP
wines may not be chaptilised at all, making these the purest German wines.
John
Keiner ist hoffnungsloser versklavt als derjenige, der irrt�mlich glaubt
frei zu sein.
There are none more hopelessly enslaved then those who falsely believe they
re free!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
