After you have made homemade wine, it is advisable to check its strength. Firstly, you will satisfy your curiosity and find out how “spicy” the drink turned out to be. Secondly, after such a check, when you reuse the recipe you like, you will be able to independently regulate the amount of ingredients that affect its strength.
Wine strength– indicator of the percentage of ethyl alcohol. Depending on the type of noble drink, the degree may be higher or lower. Determining the strength of a wine, that is, its alcohol content, is not as simple and quick a process as blending.
As practice shows, there are several ways to check the strength of a wine. Firstly, there are special instruments for this purpose - alcohol meters, including special ones for wine. This method is considered very simple, but it is important to remember that measurements may not be accurate. This is because an alcohol meter measures the alcohol concentration level in a drink without taking into account the dry solids found in the wine. Therefore, the device may make errors within 1–2% vol.
How to check the strength of wine at home without an alcohol meter
Before measuring the alcohol content of wine, weigh the glass, then pour water at room temperature (about 20 °C) into it and weigh it again. After this, the water is poured out, the glass is dried, wine is poured into it at the same temperature as the water, and weighed. Next, the wine is poured from the glass and boiled for about 30 minutes to remove alcohol from it, cooled, poured back into the glass and weighed. All 4 readings are recorded and calculations begin.
Let a glass of water weigh 250 g, a glass of wine - 249 g, and a glass of wine without alcohol - 254 g. If you divide the weight of wine by the weight of water, you get the specific gravity of wine: 249: 250 = 0.996.
In the same way, you can determine the specific gravity of wine without alcohol: 254: 250 = 1.016. Then, from the specific gravity of wine without alcohol, you must subtract the specific gravity of wine with alcohol: 1.016 – 0.996 = 0.02. We subtract the resulting difference from the unit (specific gravity of water): 1–0.02 = 0.98 - and find the number indicating the specific gravity of a mixture of water and alcohol, taken in the same quantity as the wine under study.
| Specific gravity of a mixture of alcohol and water at 15° | Alcohol content in 100 ml of wine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
% by weight, g |
% volume, ° |
% by weight, g |
% volume, ° |
||
After this, you need to refer to the table “How to check the strength of wine at home”, where in the column “Specific gravity of a mixture of alcohol and water at 15°” we find the last number (0.98). In the next column “Alcohol content in 100 ml of wine” there are two numbers corresponding to it: weight percent (12.81) and volume percent (16.14).
Most often, low alcohol content in wine is due to the presence of unfermented sugar. In this case, you need to add yeast to the wine and let it ferment. If all the sugar is fermented, but the desired strength is not achieved, it means that there was initially little sugar in the wort. Then you need to add sugar to the wine (170 g per 10 liters of wine to add 1% vol. alcohol), yeast starter and resume fermentation.
Alcoholization of homemade wine
Strong wines are made using a special technology, which includes alcoholization as a mandatory operation. The fact is that getting wine with a strength of more than 14% vol. fermenting sweet wort alone is not possible.
Along with alcohol, sugar syrup and aromatic substances, which are obtained from aromatic or medicinal plants, can be added to young wine. The result is sweet dessert wines containing 14–20% vol. alcohol, 5–16% sugar and 0.6–0.8% acid.
When alcoholizing young wine, it is very difficult to determine the amount of alcohol added, so the calculation is made approximately. It’s nice to think that if a wine has a strength of 10% vol. add 1% alcohol (or 2% vodka), its strength will increase by 1% vol.
For example, the strength of wine (20 l) must be increased from 10 to 15% vol., that is, by 5% vol. If you use alcohol for these purposes, you will need it: (20 × 1 × 5) : 100 = 1 liter. If you take vodka instead of alcohol, then its quantity will be: (20 × 2 × 5) : 100 = 2 liters.
After vodka is added to the fermented wine, it is mixed well and left for 4-5 days so that the liquids assimilate with each other.
Wine mixed with vodka becomes cloudy and sediment forms in it again. That is why it is first aged (2-3 weeks), and then removed from the sediment, filtered and only then bottled and capped.
Wine prepared with one’s own hand, be it grape or fruit, while delivering true pleasure with its taste and having a beneficial effect on the body in moderate doses, often leaves one significant point regarding its strength a secret. As a rule, one can only guess about the true values of this indicator. So how can we determine it, this very strength, if we are talking about a drink prepared at home without special equipment, made, so to speak, “by eye”? After all, it is for the sake of alcohol that juice is turned into wine, which intoxicates the body and cheers the spirit. It’s a shame not to know the amount of it in a lovingly prepared drink. This question, as it turns out, is not so simple. And not just for beginners.
Take any bottle of wine and look at the alcohol content on the back of the label. You see: 10–11%, 10–12%, or even 15–18%. Isn't there too much variation for a drink prepared industrially, where the production technology has been worked out over the years and is strictly followed? The fermentation process at wineries is strictly controlled using pure yeast cultures; wild yeast is pre-killed. The temperature regime is maintained by precise equipment in a given range, and even the very thought of temperature changes is unacceptable. Any diseases of the wine are prevented by the introduction of special preparations; acidity, sweetness, density and other indicators are measured at all stages of production. There simply cannot be any room for chance here. And yet the strength is determined approximately... 2–3% is a wide range, for dry wines it’s simply huge. Are wineries equipped with the most sophisticated technology really unable to more accurately determine the strength of their products? What then can we say about lovers of “garage winemaking”, where the quality of homemade wine is largely determined by approximate proportions and coincidence, and accidents are on guard at every turn? What is this elusive, unmeasurable fortress?
It must be said that all of the above applies equally to the sugar content in wine - all the same approximate values.
Experienced winemakers, who have been involved in winemaking for years, or even decades, determine the percentage of alcohol content, guided solely by taste sensations. And quite accurately. But what if you are not one of them. How to check how many degrees are in your wine? What determines the amount of alcohol in it? Let's figure it out.
Method for measuring strength by sugar content
The strength of the future drink directly depends on how much sugar is contained in the wine material. The higher this indicator, the stronger the homemade wine will be. Sugar is converted into alcohol during fermentation, and it happens like this: from 1 gram of sugar, about 0.6% alcohol comes out. This figure is approximate, because the conditions for fermentation among home winemakers are different. In fact, it ranges from 0.53 to 0.6%.
It is easy to calculate that with an initial sugar content of the wort of 22–23 Brie, you will get a wine with an alcohol percentage of 11–12.5% and a volumetric alcohol content of 13.2–13.8 degrees. The alcohol content in weight percent (rpm) and percent by volume (degrees), as you will notice, are slightly different. Double standards for designating strength are rooted in the history of the production of alcoholic beverages in different countries. In the Western system of determining the strength of drinks, they mainly use the percentage (%) alcohol content to the total weight, and measuring the strength in degrees (°), that is, as a percentage of alcohol to the total volume, is an original Russian measure. The question of the correctness of one or another method has not been settled, and one can often find mixed designations on labels, indicating elementary illiteracy. For example, vodka with a strength of 40%. Practice shows that the substitution of one for the other occurs because in accurate calculations the difference between them is small. The ratio of degrees to revolutions in wine stored in a cellar at a temperature of 15°C fluctuates around 1.2–1.4.
To measure Brie (sugar) levels at home, there is a special device called a refractometer. But you can do without it, knowing how much sugar is in your grape variety. Well, or at least the grape variety itself from which you make wine. Tables of sugar content in different varieties of grapes are widely presented on the Internet, and by using them you can easily find out how sweet your variety is, calculate the approximate strength of the future drink in revolutions or degrees and decide whether to add sugar, and if so, then How many.
Please note that the strength value will be approximate, since fermentation occurs under individual conditions for everyone. Temperature plays the main role here. The higher it is, the faster the fermentation takes place, the lower the alcohol content of the wine. The error is the same – 2–3 degrees. Unfortunately, without using any special instruments at all, it is impossible to obtain more accurate data.
Method for measuring strength with a capillary vinometer
For this method, you will need to purchase a wine meter - a device that determines the amount of alcohol in wine and mash. Its cost is small, about 300 rubles, but it will allow you to more accurately answer the question: “How many degrees are in your wine?” Detailed instructions for using this device are included in the kit. The essence of the measurement is that you need to pour wine into the wine meter through a funnel and pour until a few drops flow out of it, and then, turning the device over, place it on a flat surface. After turning over, a small puddle of leaked wine may form under the appliance. Don't pay attention, there's nothing wrong with that. The result can be assessed in a few minutes using the scale located inside the device.
I would like to draw your attention to some nuances. You need to pour the wine very carefully so that it does not foam; it is advisable that it flows down the wall of the flask. Bubbles formed during intensive infusion may change the readings. Also make sure that the wine meter does not heat up from the heat of your hands, this also affects the accuracy of the readings. There is an error in this method, but it is significantly smaller and amounts to only 0.5–1 degree.
This method is widely used in ordinary winemaking due to its accessibility and fairly high accuracy.
So, we examined in detail two elementary options for determining the strength of wine at home. And for an amateur they should be enough. But that's not all. There are more complex methods for calculating the amount of alcohol in homemade alcoholic drinks. To do this, sophisticated formulas and correspondence tables, alcohol calculators and instruments for measuring the density of the wort are used, the alcohol is evaporated and its volume is calculated by specific gravity...
Surely, for a winemaker who has decided to put a bottle of young homemade wine on the New Year’s table, such difficulties are unnecessary. If the wine industry allows errors in determining the alcohol content in its products, then we will somehow survive this!!!
In moderate doses, prepared wine has a beneficial effect on the body, but its strength often remains unknown. Experienced winemakers, after many years of making wines, can determine the percentage of alcohol content by taste. But what to do in the absence of relevant experience and it is unknownhow to measure the strength of homemade wine ? Of course, it is impossible to accurately determine the saturation of alcohol and the sugar content in it.
The oldest technology for detecting saturation
Due to the fact that people learned to make alcohol before the advent of exact sciences and measuring instruments, they determined degrees easily. The product was simply drunk, and if intoxication occurred, it was considered ready. This method made it possible to determine the strength before fermenting the drink.
Other methods for determining the strength of wines
The strength of a wine drink is considered the main parameter that shapes the taste and determines the richness. Fortified, dessert and table wines have different criteria for alcohol content and its combination with other indicators. However, it is impossible to determine the volume of ethyl alcohol with an accuracy of 0.1%. It’s not for nothing that the alcohol labels sold in stores indicate a strength of 9-10 or 11-12%. This interval is associated with numerous factors, including the characteristics of the grape varieties used and the duration of fermentation of the must.
Strength is determined using several methods: a hydrometer, a wine meter and a special calculation. Moreover, each method has its own deviations.
- Application of a vinometer. Not all wine connoisseurs and professional winemakers use this device, because they are confident in its accuracy. But with its help it will still be possible to determine approximate indicators. First, the device is washed before use, preferably in concentrated acid. Then you need to pour wine into the container, smoothly lower the device into it and wait until the liquid flows through the capillary. After that, turn it over with the container up and place it on a flat surface. The number of degrees will be determined by the mark where the border of the drink is located.
Often such a device is used for light wines without sugar (dry type);
- Hydrometer. The use of this device allows you to determine the density of alcohol. Based on the measurements obtained, the strength of the wine can be determined. But you need to take into account that the hydrometer data is suitable even for dry drinks without sugar, the density of which is slightly higher. For measurements, pour 200 milliliters of the drink into a cylinder and immerse it in a container of water at room temperature. After the oscillations stop (about a minute), the device becomes motionless and the result is assessed. It is determined by the mark when the device is immersed in water.
An alcohol meter is considered a type of hydrometer that can be used to determine the percentage of alcohol. Household glass appliances have an optimal price and are sold in hardware stores. It is advisable to purchase several devices with different measurement ranges. Alcohol meters and hydrometers must be stored carefully, because any damage may affect the accuracy of measurements.
There are also digital hydrometers that determine a more accurate volume of alcohol. The indicators are reflected in the calculation of the temperature of the measured alcohol. Therefore, it is important that the temperature of the wine is not less than 20 degrees. But compared to other measuring devices, digital hydrometers are expensive;
- Refractometric method. Judging by practice, there is a relationship between the strength of the drink and the sugar content. The magnitude of the degrees obtained during fermentation is compared with the sugar content in the amount of 1/0.6. Therefore, it turns out that from 1% sugar in the final product you will get about 0.6% or degrees of alcohol. That is, in order to prepare a dry alcoholic drink at home, it is necessary to achieve a volume of sugars in the raw material of at least 24%. But sugar content is detected only through refractometry, which requires professionalism and special equipment;
- Analytical technique. In the absence of measuring devices at hand, the strength of alcohol can be determined manually through calculations. In the final drink, the volume of degrees is calculated at the initial stage of preparing the drink. For example, adding 22 grams of sugar to 1 liter of wort will result in 1% alcohol. Therefore, if we know the approximate sugar content of the berries and how much sugar has been added, then we can determine the final volume of alcohol in the alcohol.
The specific alcohol volume is determined as a percentage of the total mass of the drink. The indicator differs for different wine varieties. The alcohol content in semi-dry and dry drinks ranges from 9-12%, 15-18% in dessert and fortified wines, 18-22% in semi-sweet ones. Strength is related to the initial sugar content. The higher the sugar content, the higher the strength and sweetness of the alcohol.
There are other methods, but they cause various disputes among winemakers.
Wine is not a low-alcohol drink if prepared correctly. Strength can be controlled, and experienced winemakers know how to do this. However, if this is a purchased product, in which the strength of the wine is often increased with chemicals, and this is harmful to health. Another thing is homemade wine. Only natural products - tasty and healthy. Sometimes it is necessary to give a drink the appropriate degree, and for this it needs to be measured. How to do this?
How to measure the strength of homemade wine?
Any person involved in winemaking has at home such small helpers as an alcoholometer and a hydrometer. These are special measuring instruments designed to find out how many degrees there are in an alcoholic drink. They are similar to a regular thermometer, but the division scale is different and their structure is slightly different. They may differ slightly - in the first case, this is a device (alcohol meter) that will accurately measure all readings and does not require additional effort when calculating how many degrees there are in the drink. But there are also those (hydrometer) in which accurate results can only be obtained by calculation. , hydrometer in home winemaking.
There is a strength table that lists all the values. It is from this that the alcohol percentage in wine can be determined after comparison with the results on a hydrometer.
Table of the relationship between density and alcohol content in wine
An ancient way to measure the strength of wine by taste
Home winemaking has been practiced for many years, and it is clear that there are no measuring instruments 
was not yet developed in ancient times. How was the degree of alcohol presence determined? It’s very simple – just taste it. When a person has drunk very little and is drunk, it means that the wine is good, strong, and if he drinks it and it is like juice, then there is not enough alcohol and it should be increased a little without much difficulty.
How to check the strength during cooking?
Determination of the degree is possible even at the time of preparation. When a winemaker makes a starter and sets it for fermentation, then after some time it becomes clear whether degrees have already begun to appear in the wine. A specific smell of alcohol and foam appears on the surface. Another old-fashioned method would be a medical rubber glove with a hole. It is used like this: put on a jar of starter and when it inflates, the wine has fermented and is ready for further procedures until the pure drink is completely prepared.
The best strength is considered to be one that does not affect the taste in any way or change it for the worse. In homemade wine it should not exceed 15 degrees (alcohol can be added to such fortified wines), but it should not be lower than 5. What the alcohol content of the wine should be is decided before preparation, namely at the initial stage of preparing the mixture for fermentation . This depends on the amount of sugar and the time of its fermentation at home, rather than in a factory.
If you put in just a little effort, you will certainly get a good product. The most important thing for a winemaker is to put his soul into his wine, then it will be truly life-giving and beneficial for the one who drinks it.
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Treating his dear guests with wine prepared with his own hands, each owner strives to show that he understands the types of wine. The question about the alcohol content of a drink is not idle curiosity. The strength of alcoholic homemade drinks determines whether they belong to one or another type of wine.
Specific alcohol content is measured as a percentage of the total amount of liquid. Different types of wine have different values. Levels from 9 to 12 percent contain drinks classified as dry and semi-dry. From 15 to 18 percent alcohol is already in fortified and dessert wines, it can even reach 24 percent, for example, in sherry. Semi-sweet wines are characterized by 18 to 22% alcohol. Strength (also popularly called degrees) is directly dependent on the initial sugar content. The higher the sugar content, the stronger and sweeter the wine will be.
All this looks great if it is already written on the label. What if we are holding a bottle of homemade wine in our hands? What should you do to determine the amount of alcohol, that is, the strength of your own wine?
Determination methods
There are several most accessible ways to check how strong a drink is. The most common of them include: refractometric method; determining the number of degrees using a wine meter and a hydrometer.
Refractometric method
As practice has shown, the strength of the drink produced depends on the amount of sugar in the recipe or on the level of its content in the original raw materials. The connection is direct and has a well-known mathematical expression. If you find out how much sugar is contained, then calculating what the strength of the wine will be is not difficult.
The number of degrees obtained during fermentation correlates with the level of sugar content of the original wort as follows: 1 to 0.6.
Thus, we find that one percent of sugar will give approximately 0.6 percent or degrees of alcohol in the final product.
Therefore, in order to prepare dry wine drinks at home, it is necessary to achieve a sugar content in the wort of at least 24 percent.
But it is possible to determine the level of sugar content of the wort only using a complex refractometric method, which requires not only the qualifications of a chemist, but also the presence of a device - a refractometer. In the practice of home winemaking, another, very accessible method of determining the strength of drinks is used.
Determination by vinometer
You can purchase an inexpensive, simple, but fairly accurate wine meter, which is a glass capillary with measuring divisions ending at one end with a funnel. In order to measure the strength, you need to pour the wine into a funnel. In this case, you must comply with several simple requirements:
- Pour slowly, without forming bubbles or foaming of the drink;
- Fill the capillary through the funnel until a few drops flow out from the opposite end;
- Try not to heat the device with the heat of your hands, that is, all manipulations must be done relatively quickly.
After the wine meter is filled, you need to turn it over with the funnel down and place it on a flat surface. A little more wine may spill out of the vessel. The number on the capillary, opposite which the lower meniscus of the liquid stops, is the number of alcohol degrees of our drink.
Determination by hydrometer
An alcoholometer is a type of hydrometer. The percentage of alcohol is determined by the density indicator. Household glass alcohol meters are affordable and widely available in hardware stores. The measurement process is quite simple.
The wine is poured into a measuring cylinder, the quantity is at least 200 ml. The lower meniscus (fluid level) should be at eye level of the person measuring. Carefully lower the wide part of the device into the liquid; several seconds should pass for the vibrations to stabilize, approximately 20–30 seconds. If it is not possible to take readings, it means that the device is faulty or is not designed for the strength that is in the drink being measured.
It is for this reason that it is necessary to buy several instruments with different measurement ranges. Hydrometers must be stored very carefully and carefully, since any, even the most minor damage, affects the accuracy of measurements in the direction of increasing the error.
There are also digital hydrometers that give the most accurate picture of the alcohol content of wine. Shows alcohol content based on the temperature of the drink being measured. This is very important, since in order to obtain the most accurate data, it is necessary to comply with the requirement that the temperature of the drink being measured is not lower than 20 degrees Celsius. But the digital device has one very significant drawback. This is their high price compared to other devices for measuring strength.
Conclusion
Having considered all the listed methods for determining the strength of wine, everyone will choose their own, which is most convenient. It is possible to use several options for calculating and measuring the alcohol level in a particular drink. Every self-respecting home winemaking enthusiast strives to bring his technology to a perfect level and produce drinks with certain proprietary characteristics, including strength.
