I don’t know if you’ve noticed the problem with drinking. Each type of wine has a different alcohol content. Low-precision wines are only 5 or 6 degrees, while high-precision wines are only 15 or 6 degrees. Why do we rarely see wines above 16 degrees?
Some people may say that people who want to get drunk go for white wine and spirits. Wine is so elegant that it does not lend itself to high precision alcohol. Others may say that it may be required by law. If the alcohol content is too high, it cannot be called wine, but spirits. However, these are not the real reasons.
Anyone familiar with wine knows that alcohol products can be divided into fermented and distilled according to the way they are produced.
We are familiar with beer, cognac, wine, and sake, which are all fermented. Their alcohol content is usually low, most commonly 10%-13%.
High alcohol wines such as white wine, brandy and whiskey are distilled. Their alcohol content is unlimited if people want it to be.
Why do you rarely see wines with temperatures above 16 degrees?
1. The alcohol content is too high for the yeast to survive
Because it is a fermented wine, the alcohol in wine is completely controlled by yeast.
As early as the 19th century, the great microbiologist Pasteur discovered the principle of fermentation, that is, in the absence of oxygen, the great and amazing yeast can continue to survive tenaciously in the presence of sugar, releasing alcohol, carbon dioxide and releasing energy.
However, even if it survives, this environment is very difficult for yeast. After all, alcohol and carbon dioxide are metabolic wastes in the human body, and no one can live happily with them.
Therefore, when the alcohol accumulates and the yeast is locked in the fermentation tank and cannot escape, only death awaits them. Therefore, before the alcohol fermentation reaches 17 degrees, the yeast is already extinguished.
However, different yeasts have different alcohol tolerances. Some yeasts with high alcohol content can sustain 15 or 6 degrees, while some yeasts cannot sustain at 13 degrees.
2. There is not enough sugar in grapes to ferment to more than 16% alcohol
From the working principle of yeast, we can know that alcohol is made by fermentation of sugar.
In a liter of grape juice, about 17-18 grams of sugar can be converted into 1% alcohol. To reach 17% alcohol, the sugar content of the grapes must be close to 290 grams per liter.
In general, the sugar content of winemaking grapes is about 200-250 grams per liter. Without special treatment, it is difficult to reach 290 grams per liter. Even if the glucose is concentrated by air drying, freezing or other means, the yeast still has enough energy.
Therefore, what we see is that the average wine rarely exceeds 17% precision.
Is the higher the degree of wine, the better?
Because it is not common to find wines with high alcohol content, and the higher the alcohol content, the riper the fruit. By this logic, the higher the alcohol content, the better? Unfortunately, while alcohol content can be somewhat indicative of the ripeness of a wine’s grapes, it does not mean that it is positively correlated with quality.
Let’s take a look at two authentic dry red wines, Château Lafite and Château Latour, both of which are very popular. The alcohol content is about 12.5% and 13% respectively, just at a medium to high level, not as high as 15 and 16 degrees, and their quality naturally speaks for itself.
1. Different styles of wine have different grades
The alcohol content of the following common wines has nothing to do with quality, and there are usually quality wines with low alcohol content.
Less than 10%: Icewine/Icewine from Canada and Germany, Moscato d’Asti from Italy.
10%-12%: Prosecco from Italy, Riesling from Germany, etc.
12%-14%: Bordeaux from France, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence pink, Chianti from Italy, Rioja from Spain, etc.
13.5%-15%: Most Australian and Chilean wines, American Napa Valley wines, Italian Barolo and Barbaresco wines, French Chateau Neuve Pape, etc.
Over 15%: Port, Sherry, Madeira, etc.
2、Alcohol content can be manually adjusted
Since the precision of wine comes from sugar, adding sugar to the grape juice will increase the alcohol content. This process of sugar addition is called chaptalization and is widely used in modern winemaking. It is legal even in Old World regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy. If necessary, even the most prestigious villas take the opportunity to properly adjust the precision of their wines.
Another human factor is the method of marking: for record-keeping purposes, almost all alcohol labels have an integer multiple of 0.5, with any shortfall rounded up. Only a few distilleries actually mark 13.8° or 14.3°, so there are zeroes and whole numbers.
Thus, a bottle of Bordeaux marked 11.5° may come from the exact same grapes as another bottle marked 12.5°, but with different levels of sugar. In the case of unripe wines, even an adjustment to increase the wine’s precision will not fundamentally change the light fruit and green, rough astringency.
Therefore, even in the same production area, the difference in alcohol content usually does not reflect the difference in ripeness, and naturally does not represent the level of quality.
3. Different grapes accumulate sugar at different rates
For example, as mentioned above, most single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines require about 14° to show a fully ripe style. However, a classic Bordeaux blend with Cabernet Sauvignon may show ripe characteristics at about 13°. Similarly, Burgundy’s Pinot Noir is almost always between 12.5 and 13.5°, which certainly does not mean that Burgundy cannot produce good wines.
The rate of sugar accumulation at ripening varies from variety to variety, so the grapes produce different amounts of alcohol at ripening. When comparing two different varieties or origins, the alcohol loses its reference value.
4. High alcohol content does not mean strong aromas
The sugar in grapes comes from the photosynthesis of grapes. As long as there is enough water and light, the sugar in grapes will accumulate quickly. However, the maturation process of the various phenolic substances that really make up the flavor and texture of wine is much slower.
In sunny production areas like Chile’s Central Valley, even highly productive vineyards with heavy irrigation can produce very ripe grapes. The result is that in such a hot region, even those wines with simple aromas and low prices can have a high alcohol content.
5. High alcohol content also has its drawbacks
Today, elegance and freshness have become the international norm, and everyone is looking for wines that are symmetrical, fresh and balanced. If the alcohol content is too high, it can disrupt the balance of the wine’s taste and mask a lot of appealing aromas.
With global warming, in hot regions such as Chile, the alcohol content of individual vintages can easily exceed 16° or more. In such cases, local laws only allow wineries to add small amounts of water to the wine to reduce the alcohol content and balance the palate.
In other words, too much alcohol will go too far.
Why are you sometimes unable to judge the precision of a wine?
I don’t know if you’ve ever had an experience with a wine where it seems obvious that the wine doesn’t have much alcohol, but the actual alcohol level is over 14 degrees. If you have, congratulations?
