Sugars in wine Sugars in wine Sugars in wine are at the heart of what makes winemaking possible. During the process of fermentation, sugars from wine grapes are broken down and converted by yeast into alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. Grapes accumulate sugars as they grow on the grapevine through the translocation of sucrose molecules that are produced by photosynthesis from the leaves. During ripening the sucrose molecules are hydrolyzed (separated) by the enzyme invertase into glucose and fructose. By the time of harvest, between 15 and 25% of the grape will be composed of simple sugars. Both glucose and fructose are six-carbon
Acids in wine has completed one successful malolactic fermentation will almost always induce MLF in every wine stored in it from then on. While very common in citrus fruits, such as limes, citric acid is found only in very minute quantities in wine grapes. It often has a concentration about 1/20 that of tartaric acid. The citric acid most commonly found in wine is commercially produced acid supplements derived from fermenting sucrose solutions. These inexpensive supplements can be used by winemakers in acidification to boost the wine's total acidity. It is used less frequently than tartaric and malic due to the aggressive citric