What is must?

Must is the product extracted from the grape, specifically produced when it is pressed. It is generally a very sweet, aromatic liquid, also characterised by containing suspended particles.

Must is considered one of the first stages in winemaking. This liquid, also called grape juice, is made up of different elements of the grape, such as the skin and seeds.

The amount extracted can vary, but generally speaking, for every 100kg of grapes we obtain approximately between 50 and 70kg of must, as it can vary depending on the pressing systems used.

To be able to obtain must, it's essential to first know how and when to prune the vines, so that we can finally get the desired result.

What are the properties of must?

As for what grape must is, you should know it contains different properties that we explain below:

1. Antioxidant. As we well know, must comes from the grape, and it is thanks to the grape and its metabolism that we find flavonoids that help protect cells from ageing.
2. Vitamin E. Must provides this vitamin, which helps regenerate the body's tissues, acting as an antioxidant. For this reason, it is a very good food for athletes, since their cells undergo greater oxidation.
3. Improves circulation. We say that must is good for the heart because it makes blood circulation more fluid, thereby improving it along with blood pressure.
4. Detoxifying. Grape juice is a great detoxifying food, as well as being beneficial for people suffering from gout, rheumatism, high cholesterol, etc.
5. Prevention of urinary infection. Dins de tots els beneficis que comporta aquest líquid antioxidant comprovem que enforteix el nostre sistema immunològic. D’aquesta manera, es converteix en un gran ajudant per a prevenir la infecció d’orina. Això és pel fet que el most és antisèptic i diürètic i fa que no es generin ni augmentin els virus i els bacteris.
6. What's more.. Grape juice provides potassium and vitamin B, and may also help prevent breast, colon and prostate cancer, as well as heart attacks.

What is must made of?

Grape must is made up of seven different elements:

1. Water. This is the main component of must, as it represents between 70 and 80% of its total content.
2. Sugars. These are natural, mainly glucose and fructose. These sugars are needed to carry out fermentation, where they end up being transformed into alcohol.
3. Polyphenols. Generally, we find them in the skin and seeds of the grape. They are important, as they are present both in white varieties and in red wines.
4. Organic acids. The acidity of the wine will depend on these components, such as tartaric, malic and citric acid.
5. Pectic substances. These substances are derived from certain acids that come from plant tissues.
6. Nitrogenous substances. They are considered very important for the fermentation of the must, as they ensure it develops properly.
7. Mineral substances, enzymes and vitamins. They are necessary for fermentation to proceed well, despite being a minority.

What is concentrated must?

Hem parlat molt del most, però encara no sabem sobre el most concentrat, doncs bé, aquest es basa en un most natural que es troba deshidratat. El procés parteix del most natural amb l’eliminació del 60% de l’aigua que aquest conté. Com bé hem dit abans, l’aigua és el major component del most, tot i així, en eliminar-lo només es redueix el seu volum i pes, per la qual cosa es continuen conservant les seves qualitats. El resultat final del procés és un líquid espès i molt dolç.

How to make grape must?

The answer is quite obvious, since must is grape juice and we obtain it the same way as orange juice or other fruit juices.

Bàsicament, haurem de premsar el raïm, per així aconseguir aquest líquid que, si volem, el podem filtrar per a retirar la polpa, la pell, les llavors, etc. Ara bé, si vols tractar el most de manera més professional hauràs de disposar d’una premsa, ja que aquesta permet aprofitar més tot el suc que queda en les parts més difícils d’extreure del raïm.

Finally, if we let the liquid we have extracted ferment under suitable conditions, we will obtain wine.