right|thumb|In [[Alsace, chaptalization is often used to boost the alcohol level of Riesling grapes that have not fully ripened on the vine.]]
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not intended to make the wine sweeter, but rather to provide more sugar for the yeast to ferment into alcohol.
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
left|thumb|French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal
The technique of adding sugar to grape must has been part of the process of winemaking since the Romans added honey as a sweetening agent. While not realizing the chemical components, Roman winemakers were able to identify the benefits of added sense of body 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 discovered that the actual chemical benefit of adding sugar to must was an increase in alcohol to balance the high acidity of underripe grapes rather than any perceived increase in sweetness. In 1801, while in the services of Napoleon, 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 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 in Perpignan. 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.
Process variations
class=skin-invert-image|thumb|right|During fermentation, components of the sucrose molecules are converted into ethanol.
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. In many wine regions, brown sugar is an illegal additive, and in regions that disallow chaptalization altogether, grape concentrate may be added. of sugar and low levels of acid naturally found in ripe grapes.
In Champagne production, measured quantities of sugar, wine, and sometimes brandy 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 sometimes employ chaptalization in their winemaking when the wine is still in the form of must.
| 11.5% (white), 12% (red)
|-
! B
| 2% ABV (16 g/L)
| 12% (white), 12.5% (red)
|-
! C
| 1.5% ABV (12 g/L)<br>Zero in Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, and regions of southern France
| 12.5%–13.5% depending on region
|}
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. 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,
Countries and regions
Countries and regions where chaptalization is permitted
- Brazil
- Canada Bordeaux, Champagne
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- United States: Long Island and Oregon
- Australia
- Spain
- South Africa