Wine Geek Speak: Brix
Hello Friends,
Have you ever been in a tasting room and heard the term ‘brix’ tossed out? I recall when I first got into wine and a tasting room associate commented that their Cabernet Franc came in at 24 brix, I was like, what the heck do ‘bricks’ have to do with the wine I’m about to taste (LOL). Nowadays, I’m always curious to find out the brix levels of the grapes at harvest. I guess you can say I’m a little ‘geeky’ when it comes to wine.
The Riper the Berry the Higher the Brix
So what is brix and why do we care? Brix refers to the measurement, in degrees, of the sugar content in grapes on the vine or in grape juice. Sugar in wine grapes is essential since it ferments with yeast to produce alcohol. Alcohol in wine is an important element too. Yeah, it inspires mirth (lol), but it also affects the weight, taste, texture, and body of the wine. So the higher the brix (or percentage of sugar in the grapes), the higher the potential alcohol in the finished wine will be. Brix also tells us something about the ripeness level and quality of the grapes. For example, a Cabernet Franc picked on the low side of ripeness (low brix) may taste green (vegetal), whereas a Cabernet Franc picked when the grapes are ripe (nominal to higher brix) results in more desirable and developed flavors in the wine. As the sugar levels in the grapes increase, the acidity decreases, so balance is critical too – after all, nobody wants a dull, flat wine, right? The next time you hear someone toss out 22, 24, or 25 brix, you can take that number and estimate what is known as the 'potential alcohol'. For every degree brix there is 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams grape juice. A typical brix reading is about 18 to 25 at harvest and about 55 percent of the sugar will be converted to alcohol. Therefore, if our Cabernet Franc comes in at 24 brix then we have a shot at a little over 13 percent alcohol (ex. 24 x 55% = 13.2). At the very least, if you have never heard this term before at least you won’t get it confused with "bricks” like I did a few years ago (LOL). Now get out and enjoy some good wines and as always, Happy Sipping!Stay tuned friends ...more to come!
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3 comments:
Great post, Dezel. I'm all about wine geek speak, and you might be amused to know how many different scales there are for measuring sugar. Brix is popular in the USA and really makes the most sense as a direct measure (they're all indirect measures to some extent) of sugar. Most of the rest of the winemaking world uses "Baume" which was originally used to measure salt concentrations. It has since been adapted to sugar and the scale is reported as degrees of potential alcohol. Germany uses the "Oechsle" scale which is really just a measure of specific gravity - a density measurement used in many industries that process liquids. In my travels I've also used the "Balling" and "Babo" scales which are variations of those mentioned above.
The ultra-geeky many be interested to know that these scales are really an indirect measure of sugar - they really measure "soluble solids." Depending in which part of the world you are and which variety of grape you're analyzing, there will be a varying amount of non-sugar solubles in grape juice. Sugar makes up at least 90% of what your density scale is measuring. But since an actual analysis of sugar is a painstaking endeavor, wineries simply use a hydrometer calibrated to one of these scales.
But this presents a problem in that what you're really interested in potential alcohol. So you have to apply a factor that converts your hydrometer measurement to potential alcohol. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands you apply this same factor year after year to all the varieties of grapes that you make wine from. This system works fairly well, but there will be nuanced differences in the expected alcohol based on the technician running the test.
In general, higher Brix fruit at harvest is a reflection of greater ripeness and points to a potentially "better" wine (there is much debate about this). I think it's a great testament that in Virginia, we are growing grapes with such skill that we can harvest fruit at such great ripeness. You mentioned a number of "24 Brix" in reference to a Cabernet Franc in a visit to a winery. There was a point in time in which growers in California aspired to reach such numbers!
Hello Jason,
Thanks very much for your kind words and the detailed information – that is truly wine geek speak man! I got a good education out of what you wrote – much appreciated. I’m due a trip to Rappahannock sometime soon and hope you are around when I visit. From the growers I have spoken with growing grapes in Virginia is not an easy task. Mother Nature throws curves, sliders and a lot of wet ones when its least desired. I definitely respect what these guys do and its nice to see some wineries starting to give credit to the growers by listing the vineyard name on the bottle. I talk to many locals who started drinking VA wine around the mid 80’s and according to their notes VA has certainly come a long way. I started tasting VA wine in 2005, and have definitely seen increased improvements in quality and consistency from a select # of producers I follow closely. Thanks again and look forward to visiting soon.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
Dezel,
first, very interesting posting. Unfortunately, many wine drinkers don't fully understand the connection between sugar in the grape and sugar in the wine, in particular, when it comes to German sweet wine. I have written about it on my Blog.
http://www.schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2010/01/german-wine-basics-sugar-in-grape.html
Second, just did a posting on Veramar and plan to do more postings on Virginia wines.
Cheers.
Christian
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