Refractometer to Determine Alcohol Content by Volume in Fortified Wine.

I am interested in the VIN06 refractometer for the determination of alcohol in fortified wines. What is the process for determining the alcohol – it appears you have to distil the wine before measuring it with the refractometer. How would I do this?

You cannot directly measure the alcohol content in a finished wine with a refractometer. However, you can distil the wine and then use the alcohol scale on the Palm Abbe digital refractometer to measure the ethanol content of the distillate. More information can be found in our technical bulletin  “Using Refractometers to Increase the Efficiency of Vineyard Management and Winemaking.”