Why does the alcohol content in different wines vary so much?
When we pick grapes we know that if they contain 12% sugar then the wine produced will have around 12% alcohol. But picking grapes at an exact level of sugar is not easy. For example, the sugar in the grapes on the vines may be 12% one day, and after rainfall these grapes can ‘plump up’ with water and the sugar level in the grape can reduce to below 11%. Picking grapes requires considerable resources and it’s not something you can do immediately. In a perfect world, we believe the alcohol level in wine should average 12%.
