Baumé

Baumé meaning in winemaking

Baumé is a hydrometric scale developed by French chemist Antoine Baumé to measure the density of liquids. In winemaking, a reading of grape must’s specific gravity provides an estimate of its sugar concentration and potential alcohol. As a rule of thumb, 1° Baumé is approximately 1.8° Brix, 18 g/L sugar, and 1% potential alcohol by volume. Must at 11–15° Baumé therefore indicates roughly 11–15% potential alcohol, although direct measurement of glucose and fructose gives a more accurate estimate. Higher Baumé readings generally indicate more dissolved sugar. Winemakers use Baumé, Brix, or Oechsle readings to help assess ripeness, plan harvest, and monitor fermentation, but the conversion to finished alcohol remains an estimate because sugar composition and fermentation yield vary.

Source: Australian Wine Research Institute technical note on Baumé, Brix, sugar, and potential alcohol.

What does Baumé mean?

Baumé is a hydrometric measurement scale used by winemakers to gauge the density and sugar concentration of unfermented grape juice. This reading helps producers accurately estimate the potential alcohol content of the finished wine once all the sugars are fermented.