Oechsle scale The mass difference between equivalent volumes of must and water is almost entirely due to the dissolved sugar in the must. Since the alcohol in wine is produced by fermentation of the sugar, the Oechsle scale is used to predict the maximal possible alcohol content of the finished wine. This measure is commonly used to select when to harvest grapes. In the vineyard, the must density is usually measured by using a refractometer by crushing a few grapes between the fingers and letting the must drip onto the glass prism of the refractometer. In countries using the Oechsle scale, the
The Fox and the Grapes of this transposition to the human situation hinges on the double meaning of 'unripe' ("vert") in French, which could also be used of a sexually immature female. From this emerges the story's subtext, of which a literal translation reads: There is the same sexual ambiguity in the Greek of Babrius. The phrase there is "όμφακες εισίν" ("omphakes eisin"), the word "omphax" having both the literal meaning of an unripe grape and the metaphorical usage of a girl not yet ripe for marriage. Rather than admit his failure to reach the grapes, the fox rationalises that they are not really desirable.