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Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, or "Vinny" for short. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the technical aspects of winemaking to the fine points of etiquette. I hope you find my answers educational and even amusing. Want to see more of them? Check out my archive. And here are my most Frequently Asked Questions.
Dear Dr. Vinny,
My sister believes that "cheaper" wines are much, much lower in alcohol content. Thinking of the process, I don't see how this is so. Is it?
—Diane, Dallas
Dear Diane,
It's not accurate to say across the board that less expensive wines have a lower alcohol content than expensive ones. You could easily find examples that either follow your sister's theory or disprove it. You're right that the wine process is basically the same no matter what the price point; the biggest factor in determining alcohol content is the ripeness of the grapes. Ripeness means sugar, and fermentation converts sugar to alcohol, so the more sugar you start with, the more alcohol you'll end up with. (Some regions are permitted to add sugar or concentrated grape juice to increase alcohol levels in their wines.) "Table wine" is defined to contain between 7 and 14 percent alcohol by volume, but you'll typically find a much narrower window on wine shelves—most wines these days are between 12 and 14 percent (though many now exceed this threshold, reaching 15 percent or more). In any case, this variation is not a function of price.
—Dr. Vinny
Do you have a question for me? Fire away!
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