Fermenting Grape Juice
This is a view of fermenting grape juice. The gas accumulating in the baloon is carbon dioxide. In the juice, alcohol is also being produced.
Fermentation ends either when the sugar is exhausted. This gives rise to a dry wine with a modest alcoholic content.
If sugar is added, or if the juice has a natuarally high sugar content, fermentation continues until the yeast suffer from the toxic affects of the alcohol. This results in a sweet wine with an alcoholc content around 12% (with certain yeast strains it can go higher).
How does brandy get an alcoholic content of up to 60%?