Oechsle

[UHK-sluh] A German method of measuring the specific gravity (therefore, the sugar content) of must or grape juice prior to fermentation. Developed in the nineteenth century by Germany's Christian Ferdinand Oechsle, this method is similar to the brix system used in the United States and the baumé scale used in France. Germany employs the Oechsle scale to establish the quality levels of wines (see qualitätswein bestimmter anbaugebiet (QbA) and qualitätswein mit prädikät (QmP)). The required Oechsle reading varies for a given quality level, depending on the grape varieties and the German region. For example, kabinett wines (the lowest quality level within QmP-the highest quality category) require an Oechsle reading of 73° for riesling in the rheingau region, but only 67° in Germany's ahr region. trockenbeerenauslese, the highest quality level of all German wine, requires an Oechsle reading of 150° (equivalent to a 35° Brix reading) for Riesling in all regions.