Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal
Definition - What does Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal mean?
Jean Antoine Claude Chaptal was a professor, scientist, industrialist and statesman of France during Napoleon's reign. He is well-known in the wine world as the man who honed the process of adding sugar to grape juice prior to fermentation so alcohol levels could be increased. This process is known as chaptalization.
WineFrog explains Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal
Jean-Antoine Chaptal or Jean-Antoine Chaptal, comte de Chanteloup as his formal title, was a distinguished French statesman. He was also a physician, agronomist, chemist, industrialist, educator and philanthropist. Jean Antoine Chaptal is known to be the catalyst of the most brilliant eras in French science.
He began in Paris in the 1780s and later expanded upon theoretical chemistry in the wine-making industry of France. He is most well-known for perfecting the addition of sugar to grape must (juice) in order for the wine to result in higher levels of alcohol following fermentation. This method is still in practice worldwide called, chaptalization; however, in some places it is considered illegal.
