Optical measuring device (also refraction meter, refraction = refraction) with which the concentration of liquids or solid bodies can be determined by means of light refraction. A variant of such a device was developed by the German physicist Ernst Abbe (1840-1905), who was the owner of the Zeiss company. In viticulture, the sugar content in the form of the must weight and thus the potential alcohol content can already be determined in the grapes in the vineyard or in the grape must. In a drop of grape must enclosed between two prisms, the light is diffracted according to the sugar content and the value is usually displayed together on a scale on the eyepiece in a different unit of measurement depending on the wine-growing country (for example Brix, Oechsle and KMW = Klosterneuburger Mostwaage). The more concentrated the sugar solution, the more the light is refracted.
![]()
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi