Inside Wine: Chaptalization

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for the March 31, 2002 issue

See Also
When Disaster Strikes
The Other Pork
Lion King Dining
Back to Earth in Bordeaux
Burgundy Seduction

See Also:
Saturday, November 15, 2008 Unwelcome Rot
Thursday, November 15, 2007 Inside Wine: Tannins
Monday, October 15, 2007 Inside Wine: When Rot Is Noble
Saturday, March 31, 2007 Inside Wine: In the Vine Gene Pool
Sunday, October 15, 2006 The Unseen Engine of Fermentation
More from Inside Wine

When augmenting alcohol, it's a matter of degree

Daniel Sogg
Issue: March 31, 2002

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.