Main Components of Wine

Louis Pasteur, a famous French chemist firstly conducted a deep and systematic research on wine. He separated microzyme for the first time and discovered how alcoholic fermentation works. He also invented Pasteurization. With more scientists joined wine research, the scientific study of wine came into being.

People have known more about wine with scientific advancement and wine industry development. More than 1000 substances have been found in wine and more than 350 of them have been identified through quantitative analysis. However, little is known about some other substances, especially aromatic substances. Wine is nutritious and natural drink which has more for us to explore, but we have already known the main components of wine.

WATER: Water is the major part which makes up 70-90% of wine. This water is absorbed by the roots from soil, so it is pure water. Water is the carrier of wine substances and the source of wine life.

ALCOHOL: The sugar in grape berries is fermented by microzyme into alcohol. The usual alcohol content in wine is 7-16% (V/V), but some fortified wines have up to 23% of alcohol. Alcohol also plays a very important role in the bouquet and taste of wine.

SUGAR & GLYCERIN: Sugar are those which are not fermented in grape berries. Sugar content in dry wines is less than 4 g/L, however, some sweet wines have sugar as much as 80 g/L or even more. Glycerin is the main by-product of fermentation and the normal content of it is 5-12 g/L. Sugar and glycerin make wine mellow and full-bodied.

ACID: There are mainly two types of acid in wine. One is acid contented in grape berries like tartaric acid, malic acid and citric acid. Another is acid produced by fermentation like lactic acid, amber acid and acetic acid. The wine with low acid content has ordinary taste and is not good for long time storage. However, too high acid content makes wine rough and thin. So different types of acid and different content of acid determine the taste and storage ability of wine.

TANNIN AND PIGMENT: the tannin and pigment in grape stem, skin and seeds are dissolved in wine during red wine making process. The contents are normally 1-5 g/L. tannin determines the structure and ripeness of wine and pigment determines the color of wine.

OTHER SUBSTANCE: wine has other substance like esters, fatty acid, aromatic substance, mineral substance (including microelement), little carbon dioxide, sulfur trioxide, different amino acids and a variety of vitamins (VB1, VB2, VB6, VB12, Vc, Vh, Vp)