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
The Wine Advocate Thomases, Jay Miller and Antonio Galloni. While not the first American wine publication, nor the first to use a numerical wine ratings scale, "The Wine Advocate" was the first to widely adopt the 50-100 point scale and use it as parallel to the American educational grading system. This system was familiar to Robert Parker's original target audience—the average American consumer—and provided a guideline for quantifying a wine's quality in a standardize format. Retailers have used "The Wine Advocate's" "Parker scores" to aggressively market wines with high scores. The scores have also become focal points for collectors and wine investors who