Oechsle scale
The Oechsle scale is a
Overview
The mass difference between equivalent volumes of must and water is almost entirely due to the dissolved
Wine classification
The Oechsle scale forms the basis of most of the
- Kabinett – 70–85 °Oe
- Spätlese – 76–95 °Oe
- Auslese – 83–105 °Oe
- Eiswein – 110–128° Oe (Eiswein is made by late harvesting grapes after they have frozen on the vine and not necessarily affected by noble rot, botrytis, which is the case with Beerenauslese)
- Trockenbeerenauslese – 150–154 °Oe (affected by botrytis)
The sugar content indicated by the Oechsle scale only refers to the unfermented grape must, never to the finished wine.
Other scales
In Austria the Klosterneuburger Mostwaage (KMW) scale is used. The scale is divided into Klosterneuburger Zuckergrade (°KMW), and very similar to the Oechsle scale (1° KMW =~ 5° Oe). However, the KMW measures the exact sugar content of the must.
The Baumé scale is occasionally used in France[3] and by U.S. brewers, and in the New World the Brix scale is used to describe the readings of a refractometer when measuring the sugar content of a given sample.
Since a refractometer actually measures the refractive index of the grape must, it can be translated to many different scales (both related and unrelated to wine) based on their correlation to refractive index. Thus, all of these methods are similar and the differences are more cultural than significant, but all are equally valid ways to measure the density of grape must and other sugar-based liquids.
The
See also
References
- ^ By a slight abuse of physical terminology one says in German that the Mostgewicht (must weight) is measured rather than the must's density.
- ^ Deutsches Weininstitut: Must weights Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on March 26, 2009.
- ^ Since the exclusion of degree Baumé from legal units in France by Decree No. 61-501 of 3 May 1961 relating to units of measurement and control of measuring instruments, the French regulation refers to sugars content expressed in grams per litre.