Total extract (dry extract) refers to all substances that occur dissolved in the wine and remain after distillation (evaporation) of the aqueous-alcoholic portion. The total of all minerals and trace elements is referred to as ash, the quantity of all 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 carried out in grams per litre (g/l) to an accuracy of 10-1. The vast majority is still unknown. The 50 or so most common ones, together with their interaction, make up the composition or the very special quality of a wine.
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien