brix matters

[Guest guest]

I got this from Rex Harrill the brix man and think you may be interested.

 

Yesterday a source on one of the California wine boards informed me that they had recently seen Zinfandel winegrapes go for from $200 to $2000 per ton. Somehowthat 10 to 1 price ratio sounds about right to me.I seem to remember someone showing me a picture onceof a loaded truck on a weight scale at a winery. The truck belonged to an independent grower who was delivering. An inspector was using a refractometer to check the brixand he had a small chart showing what the winery wouldpay vis-a-vis the brix reading.Although the outcome is the same, the citrus industryin Florida does it differently. There a State inspector takes a sample of each truck load of fruit delivered and squeezes the juice from a known volume (i.e., a "box" ofcitrus---1 and 5/8th bushels). He then measues the brixand computes a pounds-solids value PER BOX that reflects both the brix AND the gallonage. Pay is computed from the total weight delivered vis-a-vis the pounds-solids value. A point to consider is that higher brix citrus is juicier and therefore the grower is doubly rewarded for growingbetter quality fruit. Nutrition will take a giant step forward the day that growersof all types of produce are rewarded properly for growinghigher brix products.Regards,Rex Harrill