Extract

extract or dry extract, or total dry extract (TDE), the sum of the non-volatile solids of a wine: the sugars, non-volatile acids, minerals, phenolics, glycerol, glycols, nitrogenous compounds, and traces of other substances such as proteins, pectins, and gums. Sometimes sugars are deliberately excluded to give sugar-free extract. Wines’ extract, including sugars, usually starts at between 17 and 30 g/l but can vary considerably depending on the wine’s sweetness, colour (red wines usually having a higher extract than whites, thanks to their greater phenolic content), and age, since some extract is precipitated as sediment over the years. Cooler and wetter years, with higher levels of acidity in the grapes, are likely to produce wines with higher levels of dry extract, and botrytis is also likely to increase its concentration.