Potential Alcohol (PA)
Definition - What does Potential Alcohol (PA) mean?
Potential Alcohol (PA) is the total measurement of the alcohol that a wine may contain following fermentation. This includes the levels of glucose and fructose. The levels of each will enable the winemaker to determine the conversion rate of sugar into alcohol. Measuring the Brix is a simple way to determine this, however, it is best to determine the percentage of both glucose and fructose in the must to give a more specific estimate.
WineFrog explains Potential Alcohol (PA)
In order to properly measure the potential alcohol a conversion is made based on the weight of the sugar in the grape must (juice). This is done by this formula:
Potential Alcohol = Glucose + Fructose (g/L)/16.83
PA levels differ, because the real content of alcohol converted from sugar depends on the individual yeast strain and the environment where the fermentation took place. Yeast is using sugar for the growth and production of the other compounds. It lets out some alcohol with carbon dioxide during fermentation.
