Refractometer

A piece of equipment used by grape growers to measure the percentage of sugar in various grape samples being tested. The grape is gently sqeezed until juice is released or a small amount of juice is extracted from the grape using a utensil similar to an eye dropper. The juice to be sampled is then placed on the lens surface of the Refractometer so it spreads evenly across the surface. While looking through the eye piece and holding the Refractometer up to the light, a scale can be viewed that records the level of the gravity of unfermented grape must. This value is referred to as the Brix value, a standard industry measure for determining the amount (percentage) of sugar expected per grape for the grapes to be harvested.