Harvest (wine) of wine, winemakers would use the sugar and acid levels of the grape as a guide in determining ripeness. Early winemakers tasted the grapes to gauge ripeness. Modern winemakers use a refractometer to measure high sugar levels and °Brix or titration tests (using an indicator such as phenolphthalein) to determine the titratable acidity within the grape. In recent times there has been more of an emphasis on the "physiological" ripeness of the grape, usually in the form of tannins and other phenolics. Currently, tasting is the only way to measure tannin ripeness, which can take experience and skill to do
Phenolic content in wine the vanilla notes in wines that have been aged in oak. Trace amounts of vanillin are found naturally in grapes, but they are most prominent in the lignin structure of oak barrels. Newer barrels will impart more vanillin, with the concentration present decreasing with each subsequent usage. Oak barrel will add compounds such as vanillin and hydrolysable tannins (ellagitannins). The hydrolyzable tannins present in oak are derived from lignin structures in the wood. They help protect the wine from oxidation and reduction. 4-Ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol are produced during ageing of red wine in oak barrels that are infected by brettanomyces