Dear Valued Customers,
Welcome to the First Edition of the Winechek Newsletter in May 2025 called Precision Matters.
We created this newsletter to keep you in the loop on all things analytical that impact the quality of your product and efficiency of your processes. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or just curious, we’ll bring you valuable insights, new resources on the website, and helpful content—straight to your inbox.
What to Expect
As Vintage 2025 comes to a close and wines are being sulphured up we are as grateful as ever for our customers and support in our local regions. We have invested in each of our sites to improve the service to our customers and always welcome feedback about how we can best support our customer base.
We are pleased to announce Tambourlaine Wines will be acting as a drop off point for all analysis. All analysis has now been directed towards our NATA accredited Winechek laboratory in the Yarra Valley. This includes export analysis, basic and advanced testing as well as microbiological and spoilage analysis. Please contact rpengilly@tamburlaine.com.au or phone on 0437 796 947.
We are pleased to announce a new drop-off point for water analysis at Think Water Margaret River. The location at 26 Station Road Margaret River is conveniently located close to town and we offer a collection service each weekday for all samples dropped off before 10am. Sampling bottles are also located at the store so feel free to collect a bottle at your convenience. The team at Winechek Cowaramup are available for assistance in working out which water analysis is right for your needs.
Encouragingly, we are seeing the export market increase during this period but a number of stuck fermentations and associated spoilage are occurring. As the cooler weather sets in, malolactic fermentations are slowing dow,n leaving the wine open to spoilage. For further information about either malolactic fermentation or Brettanomyces testing please see the below fact sheets and talk to your local laboratory manager.
Fact sheet – Managing malolactic fermentation
Fact sheet - Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Vintessential kits are manufactured in Australia by the Winechek group. Vintessential test kits are ready-prepared specifically for the analysis of wine using a spectrophotometer or automatic enzyme analyser. With the Winechek customer support and expertise, you’ll discover how to use these kits with confidence, ease and economy.
Vintessential test kits are calibrated exclusively for wine testing and validated the results across the range on red, white, rosé, sparkling and fortified wines.
After more than two decades of leading innovation in water analysis, we’re proud to unveil a new logo that reflects our journey and future. Since our first test kits launched in 2003, backed by over 25 years of scientific expertise, we’ve been a trusted partner to accredited laboratories across the country.
Our new visual identity represents more than just a fresh look—it signals our continued commitment to precision, reliability, and progress. As quality becomes even more critical in a global market, we’re expanding our toolkit to empower users with even more portable, easy-to-use solutions—delivering lab-quality results anytime, anywhere.
This evolution marks the next chapter in our mission: bringing powerful, accessible wine testing tools to professionals and wine producers everywhere.
All our laboratories now have GC-MS capabilities which allows us to run fusels and ethyl phenols. Methanol is an important alcohol which is toxic if not removed. We often get asked what a suitable level of methanol is permissable present in a distillate and have now created a fact sheet to outline where it comes from, why it can be high in distillates and what the legal levels are according to Food standards Australia. Please go to our fact sheet section for more information.
pH ELECTRODE CARE TIPS FOR IMPROVED ACCURACY AND PRECISION IN WINEMAKING TESTING
It is very common for our laboratory managers to get asked about maintaining laboratory equipment. In particular, the care and maintenance of pH probes for both the measurement of pH and titratable acidity is paramount. A lack of care can translate to incorrect and inconsistent readings. We have put together a guide on care and maintenance of pH probes and meters to assist with this query.
WINECHEK - Laboratory Equipment
Vintage 2025 is mostly behind us and hopefully a sense of calm has returned to your lab. We thought that now is a good time to remind you that Winechek equipment is designed to ensure a seamless laboratory experience.
Customers who regularly use our products will understand the benefits of working with our reliable kits and equipment to help you get the best out of them.
Here are some ideas:
If you are looking for apparatus: WINECHEK - Laboratory product range
Our new mobile photometer – the Absorbance One for use with VINTESSENTIAL test kits.
Accurate monitoring of the Sulphur Dioxide content during the winemaking and storage process.
A complete starter pack to get you started measuring alcohol.
A complete starter pack to get you started measuring pH and titratable acidity.
