Home > Magazine Archives > March 31, 2002 Issue > Inside Wine
Inside Wine: Chaptalization
When augmenting alcohol, it's a matter of degree
Chaptalization is a process by which a vintner adds sugar to the vats of grape juice before or during fermentation in order to raise the alcohol level of the finished wine. Find out how this process originated in Napoleonic times, how it works, and where it's still practiced.
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