Chaptalization is the process of adding

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

to unfermented grape

must Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of t ...

in order to increase the alcohol content after

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist

Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal Jean-Antoine Chaptal, comte de Chanteloup (5 June 1756 – 30 July 1832) was a French chemist, physician, agronomist, industrialist, statesman, educator and philanthropist. His multifaceted career unfolded during one of the most brilliant peri ...

. This process is not intended to make the wine

sweeter Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

, but rather to provide more sugar for the yeast to ferment into alcohol. Chaptalization has generated controversy and discontent in the French wine industry due to advantages that the process is perceived to give producers in poor-climate areas. In response to violent demonstrations by protesters in 1907, the French government began regulating the amount of sugar that can be added to wine. Chaptalization is sometimes referred to as enrichment, for example in the

European Union wine regulations European Union wine regulations are common legislation related to wine existing within the European Union (EU), The legality of chaptalization varies by country, region, and even wine type. In general, it is legal in regions that produce grapes with low sugar content, such as the northern regions of France, Germany, and the United States. Chaptalization is, however, prohibited in Argentina, Australia, California, Italy, Portugal, Spain and South Africa. Germany prohibits the practice for making Prädikatswein.

History

The technique of adding sugar to grape

has been part of the process of winemaking since the Romans added

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

as a sweetening agent. While not realizing the chemical components, Roman winemakers were able to identify the benefits of added sense of

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

or mouthfeel. While the process has long been associated with French wine, the first recorded mention of adding sugar to must in French literature was the 1765 edition of '' L'Encyclopedie'', which advocated the use of sugar for sweetening wine over the previously accepted practice of using lead acetate. In 1777, the French chemist

Pierre Macquer Pierre-Joseph Macquer (9 October 1718 – 15 February 1784) was an influential French chemist. He is known for his ''Dictionnaire de chymie'' (1766). He was also involved in practical applications, to medicine and industry, such as the French de ...

discovered that the actual chemical benefit of adding sugar to must was an increase in alcohol to balance the high acidity of

underripe grapes In viticulture, ripeness is the completion of the ripening process of wine grapes on the vine which signals the beginning of harvest. What exactly constitutes ripeness will vary depending on what style of wine is being produced ( sparkling, still ...

rather than any perceived increase in sweetness. In 1801, while in the services of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal began advocating the technique as a means of strengthening and preserving wine. In the 1840s, the German wine industry was hard hit by severe weather that created considerable difficulty for harvesting ripened grapes in this cool region. A chemist named

Ludwig Gall Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and ...

suggested Chaptal's method of adding sugar to the must to help wine makers compensate for the effects of detrimental weather. This process of ''Verbesserung'' (improvement) helped sustain wine production in the Mosel region during this difficult period. At the turn of the twentieth century, the process became controversial in the French wine industry with vignerons in the Languedoc protesting the production of "artificial wines" that flooded the French wine market and drove down prices. In June 1907, huge demonstrations broke out across the Languedoc region with over 900,000 protesters demanding that the government take action to protect their livelihood. Riots in the city of Narbonne prompted Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau to send the French army to the city. The ensuing clash resulted in the death of five protesters. The following day, Languedoc sympathizers burned the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

. In response to the protests, the French government increased the taxation on sugar and passed laws limiting the amount of sugar that could be added to wine.Phillips, 291.

Process variations

Different techniques are employed to adjust the level of sugar in the grape must. In the normal chaptalization process, cane sugar is the most common type of sugar added although some winemakers prefer beet sugar or

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...

. In many wine regions, brown sugar is an illegal additive, and in regions that disallow chaptalization altogether, grape concentrate may be added. After sugar is added to the must, naturally occurring enzymes break down the

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

molecules in sugar into glucose and

fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...

, which are then fermented by the yeast and converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. In warmer regions, where overripening is a concern, the opposite process of rehydration (dilution with water) and acidification is used. This is used in jurisdictions such as areas of California, where if the must has excess sugar for normal fermentation, water may be added to lower the concentration. In acidification, tartaric acid is added to the must to compensate for the high levels of sugar and low levels of acid naturally found in ripe grapes. In Champagne production, measured quantities of sugar, wine, and sometimes

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

are added after fermentation and prior to corking in a process known as dosage. Chaptalization, on the other hand, involves adding sugar prior to fermentation.

Champagne producers The listing below comprises some of the more prominent houses of Champagne. Most of the major houses are members of the organisation ''Union de Maisons de Champagne'' (UMC), Some wine journalists contend that chaptalization allows wine makers to sacrifice quality in favor of quantity by letting vines overproduce high yields of grapes that have not fully ripened. Also, winemakers have been using technological advances, such as

reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...

to remove water from the unfermented grape juice, thereby increasing its sugar concentration, but decreasing the volume of wine produced.

Current legality

Control of chaptalization is fairly strict in many countries, and generally only permitted in more northerly areas where grapes might not ripen enough. In the European Union, the amount of chaptalization allowed depends on the wine growing zone. Dispensation to add another 0.5% ABV may be given in years when climatic conditions have been exceptionally unfavorable. National wine regulations may further restrict or ban chaptalization for certain classes of wine. In some areas, such as Germany, wine regulations dictate that the wine makers must label whether or not the wines are "natural," i.e. without sugar. Other areas, such as France, do not have such label requirements. In the United States, federal law permits chaptalization when producing natural grape wine from juice with low sugar content. This allows chaptalization in cooler states such as Oregon, or in states such as Florida where the native grape ( Muscadine) is naturally low in sugar. However, individual states may still create their own regulations; California, for example, prohibits chaptalization, although California winemakers may add grape concentrate.

Countries and regions

''Countries and regions where chaptalization is permitted'' * Brazil * Canada * Chile *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

* France: Alsace,MacNeil, 278. Bordeaux,

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

,Phillips, 198. Champagne * Germany for Tafelwein, Landwein, and Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) *

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

* New Zealand *

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Robinson, 270. * United KingdomJohnson and Robinson, 326. * United States:

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and Oregon ''Countries and regions where chaptalization is not permitted'' *

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

* Austria * California * Germany for Prädikatswein * Italy * Portugal * Spain * South Africa

References

External links