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
Wine Grapes franc may have originated in Basque country of Spain. Additionally the origins of the assumed to be French varieties of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan are shown to likely be Spanish instead. Another detail revealed by DNA testing and reported in "Wine Grapes" is that several northern Italian white wine grape varieties including Favorita, Pigato and Vermentino are genetically the same grape vine which is known under the synonym of "Rolle" in France but has no genetic relationship to the Rollo grape of Liguria. A number of grape varieties are illustrated by reproductions of colour plates from "Ampélographie. Traité général de