Introduction We often hear our winemaker customers complain “the wine had a turbidity of less than one NTU but the bottling company charged us extra for filtration!". This extra filtering needed at bottling is often unexpected, but there are two tests that can be done to check the condition of the wine prior to sending […]
Introduction As a wine export destination, China appears very attractive: a huge and growing middle class, increasing disposable income and an emerging interest in Western culture – such as wine. However, cracking the Middle Kingdom is not as easy as it seems. First a very low limit on manganese was announced early in 2014, and […]
Introduction Over 23% of the hundreds of wines we have tested for manganese recently are over the new limit imposed by China. This testing was recommended by Wine Australia in late February, for any wines exported to China because some wines have been over this limit and have been destroyed in China or returned to […]
Introduction Wine contains a number of metal ions in very small, that is, trace amounts. These trace metals are generally harmless and in fact can be essential micro nutrients for humans. Most countries have legal limits on the level of certain trace metals in wine. The recent change in limits on manganese in China is […]
Introduction Prior to your busy vintage period, it’s important to be as organized as possible in your laboratory. One way to do this is to generate 3 main lists of what you require to effectively run your lab – we show you how below. By having all the tests you do documented as Test […]
Introduction Sparkling wine is a bit of a strange substance to work with in a laboratory as it contains those pesky bubbles. Of course the bubbles are why we call it sparkling wine. But what exactly do we mean by ‘sparkling wine’? Sparkling wine – the Australian definition The definition actually varies from country to […]
Introduction The following is a written version of a presentation by the author to a meeting of the Interwinery Analysis Group in Adelaide on 26 July 2013. Botrytis cinerea - What is it? Botrytis cinerea is a common mould that occurs on many fruits. If you have ever seen strawberries with a grey fuzzy mould […]
Proper maintenance of quartz cuvettes is an essential part of spectrophotometric analysis. The following notes are based on the recommendations of Australian Standard AS 3753-2001. Cuvettes in regular use should be stored either: a) in a box lined with a suitably soft material (possibly one supplied by the manufacturer); b) immersed in distilled water; c) […]
Measuring pH is one of the most important tests in the winery but it can also be one of the most frustrating. A sluggish or non-reproducible response indicates that the pH reading may not be accurate. Can you trust the equipment you’re using? Taking a few simple steps to look after the electrode each time […]
It is good practice in a winery lab to always degas wine samples prior to analysis of titratable acidity (TA). This is of particular importance at this time of year for wines that have just finished primary or secondary fermentation, as they can contain a high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide. In wine, carbon dioxide […]
