Do the Math, Drink the Wine
Harvest 2021 is officially underway here at Rubino Estates! We have begun to bring in the fruit for our white wines and Rosé, and we anticipate a busy and productive phase as our Winemaker and cellar team begin the process of turning grapes into the wine you know and love. This process involves taking tons (yes, literal tons) of grapes and transforming them into irresistible vino. For anyone wondering how much wine comes from a ton of grapes? We're glad you asked! Below, we've included some of our favorite "wine math" to answer all your burning questions.
How many barrels and bottles is a ton?
One ton (2,000 pounds) of grapes produces about 756 bottles of wine, enough to fill 2.5 barrels. Each barrel of wine holds about 25 cases worth—this means that our standard barrels contain roughly 300 bottles in volume. Each of these barrels requires around 1200-1500 clusters to fill.
How many grape clusters do you need to make a bottle or a glass of wine?
It takes about 5 full clusters to make a bottle of wine, and each standard-sized bottle contains about 5 glasses of wine. Therefore, a cluster of grapes yields approximately one glass of wine. If each glass contains a cluster, then it should not be a difficult leap to discern the quantity of grapes in each glass.
So, how many grapes are in a glass of wine?
Alas, there is no straightforward answer. It depends on everything from varietal to winemaking technique. This answer isn't as satisfying as we'd like, however, so we'll go with a safe average of about 80 grapes in a glass of wine and 400 grapes in each bottle.
For any wine enthusiasts (or math enthusiasts) who want to know more about these numbers, it's important to note that all of the numbers listed above can actually have an immense amount of variability depending on a wide range of factors. The weight of grape clusters is influenced by variables such as sugar content or weather (grapes may be plump from rain). Furthermore, the number of individual grapes that go into a bottle or glass of wine will depend on the press processes performed by the winemaker, the thickness of the grape skin, and more. Now you know! Happy sipping!
Bonus fact: assuming the figures listed above are correct, it takes roughly 120,000 grapes to fill a single barrel. It's worth it.