{"id":481,"date":"2010-07-29T10:32:05","date_gmt":"2010-07-29T08:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/?p=481"},"modified":"2012-09-11T11:35:55","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T11:35:55","slug":"how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes.<\/h2>\n

With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer<\/b>.<\/p>\n

I hope you are having a wonderful week!<\/p>\n

With this article, I want to reply to an email I received from Suzanna, one of the subscribers of My Grape Vine<\/a>.\u00a0 Suzana became a member way back in 2007 when I first started the website and blog and established a great looking vineyard.\u00a0 Her question is about the use of a refractometer<\/i> to determine the ripeness of grapes.<\/p>\n

With the help of the Complete Grape Growing System, Suzana and her friends at St Mark’s Presbyterian Church\u00a0will be collecting the fruit of their labor soon!<\/p>\n

To listen to an interview with the ladies, just click on the link below<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.stmarkspresby.org\/archive\/032509_ladiesvine.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Well done ladies!<\/h3>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"376\"<\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"372\"<\/p>\n

Now, Suzana is thinking of buying a refractometer<\/u> to help them determine the ripeness of their grapes, but she is not sure how to use a refractometer.<\/p>\n

Okay, so before I tell her how to use one, I am sure there are some readers that don’t know what a refractometer is and how it works.<\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"500\"<\/p>\n

A refractometer is an instrument that measures the amount of sugar\u00a0in an aqueous solution.\u00a0 There are various models available on the market – from a digital refractometer to the traditional analog one’s.\u00a0 It works on a basis of critical angle principle where light goes through a lens and prism in the refractometer,\u00a0projecting a shadow on a glass reticle inside the instrument.<\/p>\n

Without getting too technical – A sample of grape sap is pressed out on the prism of the refractometer and covered with the cover plate (the small perspex like thing on top of the refractometer).<\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"500\"<\/p>\n

USING THE REFRACTOMETER – VERY IMPORTANT<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ensure that there are no solids, like pips on the prism of the refractometer when you close the cover plate, otherwise it will break and you can throw away the refractometer.<\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"500\"<\/p>\n

The amount of sucrose in the sap, either\u00a0reflects the light or pass it through the prism, and then shines the amount of light coming through on a scale inside refractometer.<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT<\/strong><\/span>: Because temperature plays a big role in this process, it is advisable that you get a refractometer that automatically compensate for the difference in temperature.\u00a0 Although they are a bit more expensive, I really do recommend you get one of these refractometers .\u00a0 For those who buy from Amazon.com, here is a link where you can order yours online –<\/p>\n

Hand Held refractometer with Automatic Temperature Compensation<\/a>\"refractometer\"width=\"1\"<\/p>\n

When looking through the eye-piece of the refractometer, you will see a white and blue (some black) area on the scale.\u00a0 The line between these two areas on the scale is what the sugar contents of the sap is.<\/p>\n

This scale is measured in Brix (\u00b0Bx)- 1 degree Brix corresponds to\u00a01 gram of sucrose in 100 grams solution.\u00a0 In the picture below, the reading is just below 17 on the scale.\u00a0 This means that there are +- 17 grams of sucrose in every 100 grams of sap.\u00a0 In other words; the higher the number, the more sugar there is in the sap.<\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"500\"<\/p>\n

Now, the question is:\u00a0 At what\u00a0Brix reading should I pick my grapes?<\/p>\n

Mostly, it depends on what you will do with your grapes.\u00a0 For making wine, a reading of 22 and above is the best as this will ensure enough sugar for good fermentation and flavour.\u00a0 As for eating, I would say round about 17 to\u00a019 degrees is more than enough.<\/p>\n

The problem when waiting too long for the Brix reading to get higher, is that the berries become softer and loose it’s crispiness and chances of rotting becomes bigger as the sugar increase as well.<\/p>\n

The old trustworthy\u00a0method of tasting the grapes alongside using the refractometer, will help you decide when to pick your grapes.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed this article about using a refractometer and you will now know how to use one.<\/p>\n

Take care and enjoy the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

Danie<\/p>\n

Find out why Suzana and thousands of other grape growers are successful<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Join the <\/strong><\/span>The Complete Grape Growing System right now.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"250\"<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Complete Grape Growing System is an online product.\u00a0 All the grape growing info I have will be at the tips of your fingers within 5 minutes from now.<\/h6>\n
You will not receive any physical product with your order.<\/h6>\n

Suzana had some trouble with kids picking their grapes before they are ready.\u00a0 Here is a sign she put up in her vineyard – LOL\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Loved it …….<\/p>\n

\"refractometer\"width=\"500\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having a wonderful week! With this article, I want to reply to an email I received from Suzanna, one of the subscribers of My Grape Vine.\u00a0 Suzana became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,28],"tags":[56],"class_list":["post-481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grow-grapes","category-how-to-grow-grapes","tag-how-to-grow-grapes"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to use a refractometer when growing grapes - Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes - Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-07-29T08:32:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-09-11T11:35:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/\",\"name\":\"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes - Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-29T08:32:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-11T11:35:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/137c346260f2bbca861a1256c854da31\"},\"description\":\"Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes\",\"description\":\"Who else wants to learn how to grow grapes? This grape growing blog is your free resource to growing grapes.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/137c346260f2bbca861a1256c854da31\",\"name\":\"admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes - Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes","description":"Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes - Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes","og_description":"Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having","og_url":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/","og_site_name":"Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes","article_published_time":"2010-07-29T08:32:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-09-11T11:35:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/","url":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/","name":"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes - Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg","datePublished":"2010-07-29T08:32:05+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-11T11:35:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/137c346260f2bbca861a1256c854da31"},"description":"Refractometer is an instrument that measures the sugar content of grapes. With this post I will show you how to use a refractometer. I hope you are having","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/images\/Suzana%20-%202010%20JUL%201.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/how-to-use-a-refractometer-when-growing-grapes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to use a refractometer when growing grapes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/","name":"Free Grape Growing Tips and Help To Grow Your Own Grapes","description":"Who else wants to learn how to grow grapes? This grape growing blog is your free resource to growing grapes.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/137c346260f2bbca861a1256c854da31","name":"admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1916,"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481\/revisions\/1916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.my-grape-vine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}