Chaptalization (nonfiction)
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar (nonfiction) to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation.
This process is not intended to make the wine sweeter, but rather to provide more sugar (nonfiction) for the yeast to ferment into alcohol.
The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal (nonfiction).
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 the 1840s, the German wine industry was hard hit by severe weather that created considerable difficulty for harvesting ripened grapes in this cool region.
The chemis 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 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 (nonfiction) that can be added to wine.
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External links
- Chaptalization @ Wikipedia