Most (grape must)

Most, or grape must, is the fresh grape juice pressed from the grapes before it has fermented into wine. When the grapes are crushed and pressed, they release a sweetish, often cloudy liquid made up of water, sugar (especially glucose and fructose), acids such as tartaric and malic acid, and a wide range of flavour and aroma compounds from the fruit. Must is therefore the raw material and the starting point for all wine: the moment the yeast turns the sugar into alcohol, you are on your way from must to wine. In German you come across the word in terms like süssreserve, where some unfermented must is added back to give sweetness.

Must matters for what you later taste, because the balance between sugar and acid in the must lays the foundation for the wine's character. Unripe grapes give a must with high acidity and little sugar, which points towards thin, sharp wines, while overripe grapes give softer, fuller results. The winemaker often measures the must's sugar content (in degrees Brix) to judge how ripe the fruit is and how much alcohol it can yield.

A common misunderstanding is that must is the same as the grape juice you can buy in the shop. The difference is that wine must is destined to ferment and is typically handled with care for acidity, cleanliness and temperature, so that it can later become a stable and tasty glass of wine.