Hydrometers And Its Use In Wine Making

Oct. 3, 2009 - PRLog -- A hydrometer is a glass measuring instrument that looks very much like a large thermometer in appearance. It is not known for sure who invented the hydrometer but it is thought to date back as far as the ancient Greeks.

A hydrometer measures the density or gravity of any given liquid in relation to water.  It gives its reading by floating in the liquid.  The hydrometer normally has mercury or a lead shot which acts as a weight and which causes the hydrometer to float upright. If the liquid is dense, the hydrometer floats at a higher level and will float at a lower level in lighter or less dense liquids. The hydrometer has a scale indicated on it and the point at which the surface of the liquid meets the hydrometer is the point at which the reading is taken.

Hydrometers are used for a wide range of purposes in science and each use has its own specific hydrometer as a measure.  The type of hydrometer used to measure sugar content is known as a saccharometer and this is the type that is useful to wine makers. When sugar is dissolved in water will change the density of the liquid and so a hydrometer is able measure the sugar content of your wine must.  A wine maker's hydrometer usually gives three readings:

· Specific Gravity or Relative Density
· Sugar
· Potential Alcohol

The specific gravity or relative density is the reading which tells you how dense your liquid is relative to water. The sugar reading tells you more specifically how much sugar is in the liquid relative to the water.  The potential alcohol reading will tell you what alcohol level in percentage the given sugar content has the potential to convert to.

To use your hydrometer is a fairly straightforward procedure:

1. Ensure your hydrometer is sterile, most can be boiled.

2. Draw some of your wine must into a test cylinder.  Your sample should be free of sediment and bubbles.

3. Stand your hydrometer into the test cylinder and allow it to float freely without touching the sides of the test cylinder.

4. Take your reading.
If your hydrometer reading indicates a low sugar level then you will need to add more sugar. The potential alcohol reading will tell you what the strength of your wine will be with the existing sugar content. Table wines should be somewhere between 10 – 12% while dessert wines can be anywhere between 12 – 14%.  If your potential alcohol reading is any higher than 14% then you will have to add more water to bring the sugar level down to that which is suitable for a wine.

A hydrometer is an indispensable instrument that no serious wine maker should be without.

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