College chemistry finally pays off.

I hated; no, make that despised, my college freshman chemistry class. Topics like molarity, Avogadro's number and electron clouds; what do they mean? How is learning this really going to help me? This past weekend, almost 32 years after taking the class, it finally was of some use. I purchased 6 gallons of Chilean cabernet sauvignon juice, and prior to doing so, decided I needed to be more precise when it comes to analyzing and monitoring the winemaking process. So I purchased a number of "sciencey" items from a wine and beermaking website that in total looks like a big boy chemistry set. I must admit that the tiny amount of knowledge I retained from freshman chemistry made taking this next step in winemaking fairly easy. I analyzed the juice for sugar content, total acidity and pH. All of these parameters were in the required ranges, so no adjustments to the juice were necessary. I pitched the yeast and alcoholic fermentation has begun, as evidenced by a gentle bubbling coming from the air lock. As I continue developing this wine, I will also be using paper chromatography to monitor malolactic fermentation, and measuring sulfites in the wine using an oxidation-reduction test kit. Hopefully all of this effort will result in a better-tasting wine. I'll let you know...