Ch.

Determining the % Volume of Alcohol in Wine

Objectives

To determine the alcohol content of wine and compare to the bottle claim

To measure the density of the distillate alcohol

To learn a technique called distillation to separate liquids by their boiling points

To practice good lab skills that will be used throughout the remainder of the
semester

To provide an introduction to Excel spreadsheets and data manipulation

Introduction
Many companies are interested in evaluating their products or consumer goods by
quantitative analysis in order to ensure that these products contain the correct amounts of
substances written on the label. Quantitative analysis is a process used by analytical chemists to
provide data about the quantities or relative proportions of substances present in a mixture. By
contrast, analytical chemists may also be interested in collecting data by qualitative analysis;
this process obtains data about the identity of a substance rather than how much of that substance
is present.
Wine is an alcoholic drink made by the fermentation of grapes after the addition of yeast.
The byproduct from this fermentation reaction is the active ingredient in wine, called alcohol
(specifically, ethanol or ethyl alcohol which can also abbreviated as EtOH). Wine is a mixture of
predominantly water, ethanol, sugar, and other added flavor ingredients. Wine usually contains
between 7 15% alcohol (average is 11%). In this experiment, you will be analyzing wine by
quantitative analysis to determine the amount of alcohol in wine and compare it to the label
percentage.
You will be using a technique called distillation to separate the liquid alcohol (boiling
point of EtOH = 78 oC) from the liquid water (H2O boiling point = 100 oC) due to their differing
boiling points. Ethanol is a clear, colorless liquid at ambient temperature. It has a lower boiling
point than water and will distill at a lower temperature than water. Distillation is a process of
vaporizing a liquid and condensing the vapor (called the distillate) into another container. To do
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Chapter One

this, heat is applied to a liquid mixture to promote the liquid of interest into the gas phase
(vapor); the vapor then condenses in another container when the vapor is cooled through a coldwater condenser. Distillation is an ancient technique that is still frequently used today to purify
or separate compounds; additionally, it is used to determine the boiling points of new or
unknown substances. For a given amount of applied heat, substances that have lower boiling
points will typically boil (become gas) sooner than substances that have higher boiling points;
hence, components with lower boiling points will distill before substances with higher boiling
points. Figure 1 shows a diagram of a distillation apparatus.

Figure 1: Distillation apparatus

Boiling chips should be used whenever a solution is brought to a boil. Boiling chips are
small, porous stones of calcium carbonate or silicon carbide that allow gas vapors to form in the
solution. Without boiling chips, a solution may become superheated and lead to bumping

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Determining the Percent Volume of Alcohol in Wine

(spurting hot solution violently). Fresh boiling chips should be added to a solution at room
temperature. New boiling chips (2-3) are needed for each distillation trial.
You will be calculating a percentage of alcohol by volume from the data you collect.
Percent by volume is the ratio of the alcohol distillate to the initial volume of sample. For
example, if you collect 6.0 mL of ethanol from a 50.0 mL sample of wine, the percent alcohol by
volume would be:
6.0 mL alcohol
x 100% 12% alcohol in wine (by volume )
50.0 mL wine
A 12% by volume value is equivalent to the ratio of 12.0 mL alcohol/100.0 mL wine.

Safety and Waste Disposal

Absolutely NO substances found in a chemistry lab should be ingested.

Ethanol is flammable; no open flames are allowed in the lab.
Avoid getting the ethanol on your skin.
Keep solvents in the hood to avoid breathing in vapors.
Add boiling chips to the wine solution before distilling to prevent bumping.
Boiling chips may be deposited in the trash after this lab.
All solutions may be poured down the drain.

Materials
Wine or beer of known alcohol content; distillation equipment comprised of a round
bottom flask, a distillation head, a condenser and a thermometer (see Figure 1).

Procedure
Work with a partner in the hood. A simple distillation apparatus will be constructed
for your inspection as seen in Figure 1. Ensure that the thermometer bulb rests just below the
sidearm as seen in the figure. Hosing should already be attached to the condenser; if not, ask
your AI for help. Attach the water inlet hose to the water tap and make sure the water outlet is
securely emptying into the sink at the back of the hood. Watch for water leaks while the
experiment is running.

Ensure that the water enters the condenser at the bottom of the

condenser (closest to the table top) with the water exiting the top. Place an empty 150.0 mL
beaker at the end of the condenser to collect the distillate.
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Chapter One

Obtain exactly 100.0 mL of wine (red or white) using a 100 mL graduated cylinder, and
record the volume to the nearest 0.1 mL. Obtain the mass of the wine sample. Pour the wine
into the round bottom flask; if any wine is lost during pouring, you should start over to ensure
accuracy.

Add a few boiling chips to the wine solution before applying heat; attach the

distillation head and condenser to the round bottom flask ensuring all ground glass connections
are secured with a green Keck clip (see Figure 1). Use a ring stand and clamps to secure the
glassware in place. You will need to make sure that all ground glass connections are properly
sealed or you may lose some alcohol through a loose fitting connection. Turn on the cold water
to the condenser slowly to ensure the water pressure is not too high; the water must be flowing
through the condenser before you start applying heat.
Plug the heating mantle into a controllable variable power source called a Variac. Never
plug the heating mantle into the wall socket as it will continue to heat uncontrollably and will
become a fire hazard. Slowly heat the wine to a gentle boil using the electric heating mantle;
start with the heating mantle with a setting of ca. 6. While the wine is heating, monitor the
temperature of the vapor by reading the thermometer. (Avoid heating the wine too quickly as
you will end up with poor data.) Once the vapor reaches 78 - 80 oC the ethanol should start to
collect in the condenser and drip into the beaker. Record the start time when you see the first
drops of distillate collecting. As the mixture continues to boil, the temperature may rise close to
100 oC; try to maintain a temperature below 95 - 96 oC until all the alcohol containing distillate
collects. There may be a short pause when no liquid is condensing and all the alcohol has
distilled. Once the thermometer reaches 95 oC, it may be assumed that all the alcohol has
distilled. Turn off the heat to the heating mantle, and allow all the distillate to run down the
condenser and fully collect into the beaker.

Once the distillation is complete, allow the

glassware to cool sufficiently before handling. The leftover wine mixture can be disposed down
the sink. Discard the boiling chips in the regular garbage.
Obtain the data you need for the distillate. Questions to consider with your partner:
What glassware would be best to use to obtain these data? How does my glassware choice affect
the accuracy and precision (certainty) of my data? Run your ideas past the AI for guidance.
Now perform a second trial. In total, you will perform three trials on three different
samples of the SAME type of wine (red or white). Note: Always clean all glassware and

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Determining the Percent Volume of Alcohol in Wine

rinse with ethanol before beginning a new trial. Add new boiling chips before the start of
each trial; spent boiling chips will not work on a subsequent distillation.
Cleanup
At the end of the experiment, rinse all the glassware you used, and replace the distillation
glassware in the box where you obtained it. All beakers and graduated cylinders should be
cleaned, dried and replaced in the community lab drawers. Always leave your glassware clean
like you obtained it. The leftover wine mixture can be disposed down the sink. Discard the
boiling chips in the regular garbage.

Data & Calculations

Based on the Pre-lab discussion, think about what data you need to accomplish your goal. (What
was your goal again?) Before lab, it would be wise to write into your notebook blank data
tables for all the data you think you need or are told to acquire in the procedure. Question:
Is it ever a problem to write too much data into your lab notebook? Too little?

Table 1: Weight percent and density of ethanol/water mixtures

Percent by weight of
ethanol in mixture
0.50
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
20.0

Density of
mixture
(g/mL)
0.997
0.996
0.995
0.993
0.991
0.989
0.988
0.986
0.985
0.983
0.982
0.979
0.977
0.974
0.971
0.969

Percent by weight of
ethanol in mixture
24.0
28.0
32.0
36.0
40.0
44.0
48.0
52.0
56.0
60.0
64.0
680
72.0
76.0
80.0
100.0

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Density of
mixture
(g/mL)
0.963
0.957
0.950
0.943
0.935
0.927
0.918
0.910
0.900
0.891
0.882
0.872
0.863
0.853
0.844
0.789

Chapter One

Show calculations for your trials in the comments section of the lab notebook

III. Entering Data into Excel

Enter data for all three trials into the class spreadsheet (your AI will provide necessary
details for completing this task), ensuring that you have included the last names of both
lab partners and email addresses with your data. After class ends, the AI will send the
class results to you via email. Compare your results to the class data recorded for the
SAME type of wine (white or red). Calculate a minimum, maximum, average and
standard deviation for the entire section and compare these to your own data. Comment
on these comparisons in your lab report.
Points for comment/discussion

Did the experiment run smoothly? What would you have done differently if it did not?

Can you explain the distillation process?

Since both water and ethanol are clear/colorless liquids, how do you know if the ethanol
or water was distilling?

Does the data from the first trial compare well to the data from the second two trials?

Are there certain trials that you believe may be more accurate than others? Why?

How does your data compare to that of the class? What does your class standard
deviation tell you about the process you performed?

How does the percent by volume of alcohol in wine compare to the label claim?

Calculate the % volume of alcohol using data you obtained from the undistilled samples.
Does it match your results from the distilled samples? Why would you expect it to match
or not match? Is it worth the effort to perform the distillation in the future if you were
called on to test % volume of alcohol in a new sample?

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