Total extract is the sum of all substances dissolved in the wine. It includes both volatile and non-volatile components. The dry extract is the non-volatile part that remains after evaporation of the aqueous-alcoholic part. The total of all minerals and trace elements is referred to as ash, the quantity of all organic acids as total acidity and the quantity of all sugars as residual sugar. Around 7,000 different substances have been identified in wine using metabolomics(a method of analysis).

This allows not only the ingredients present in a wine to be determined, but also the quality and origin, as well as any manipulation or wine adulteration that may have taken place. The calculation is made in grams per litre (g/l) to one decimal place. The majority is still unknown. The 50 or so most common ones interact to influence the characteristics and quality as well as the overall sensory impression of a wine.

1 = spicy notes, 2 = fruity flavours, 3 = floral flavours, 4 = diverse flavours

Formation of the ingredients

The total extract content of a wine is primarily determined by the amount of rainfall and climatic conditions during the growing season (as all substances are water-soluble), the root system of the vine (the older the vine, the more extensive the root system) and the type of soil with its nutrients. The lower the yield, i.e. the fewer grapes a vine bears, the higher the total extract. The time of the grape harvest also plays an important role. The later the harvest, the higher the values tend to be. However, it is not only the must weight that is decisive, but the grapes should be as physiologically ripe as possible.

Varietal flavours

The various aroma compounds in particular characterise the aroma or bouquet of a wine and can be clearly identified and named by a professional taster when evaluating a wine. This can also be learnt through practice. Even inexperienced tasters can usually recognise the aromas of bitter almond, butter, blackcurrant, strawberry, clove, yeast, coffee, cherry, coconut, nutmeg, paprika, pepper, vanilla, lemon and plum with relative ease. Each grape variety potentially has its own characteristic,...