Careers in Chemistry

Wine Industry

    Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of unmodified grape juice.  The natural chemical balance of grapes, which is a main ingredient in wine, is such that they ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients.  Chemical scientists are an important aspect in the making of a good bottle of wine because a lot of chemistry is involved in this process.  To be involved in the wine industry it is important to have good analytical skills, a good understanding in organic chemistry, and an interest in wine.  A wine's color, flavor, and bouquet are all products of chemical reactions.

Chemist's jobs in the wine industry include making chemical analyses of wines using methods of titration, distillation, enzymatic chemistry, and other specialized instrumentation.  They also order and prepare chemical reagents for the lab.  Chemists are in charge of calculating wine treatments for the cellar staff.  They specialize in quality control and analysis of the wine.  Setting optimum parameters for grape production is another important aspect of the wine industry that chemists are involved in.

Prepared by

Lynnsey Simpson

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wine

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/employment;84/8435employ.html