Alcohol content

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The alcohol content of wine and other alcoholic beverages refers to the proportion of ethanol, the main type of alcohol present. The theoretically achievable alcohol content of a wine can already be calculated from the must weight in the grapes. It results from the sugar content (fructose and glucose) in the grape must, which is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation. In the 19th century, the chemist Joseph Gay-Lussac (1778-1850) developed a system that expresses the alcohol content in degrees (°), which is still used in some Anglo-American countries. Today, however, it is internationally common and standardised within the EU to express alcohol content in percent by volume. The measurement is made at a temperature of 20 °Celsius.

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Alcohol content

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