Achieving high sugar in wine grapes by letting fruit hang for extended time comes at an economic cost to growers, says a Washington State University viticulturist. The maximum level of sugar that wine grapes can accumulate is about 24 to 25° Brix, Dr. Markus Keller, WSU viticulture professor, said to a room full of winemakers attending the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers annual meeting. Higher sugar levels are the result of berry dehydration. “If you want a higher sugar level, say 29 or 30° Brix, you have to wait for the water to evaporate and the berry to dehydrate,” […]