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84 WINES&VINES November 2018 WINEMAKING PRACTICAL WINERY & VINEYARD Part one: Quality systems in the winery lab Five steps to setting up a winery quality-control lab that will work for you W hen it comes to quality control in the cellar, opinions about value vary widely. Some wineries are equipped with the latest and greatest tech- nology and measure well beyond the basics. Others measure Brix and pH and rely on their palates and past experience for the rest. However, when looking to improve quality, repeatability and control of a product, quality-control measurement is the key. No matter your level of experience, it can be an overwhelm- ing task to determine how to equip a quality-control lab. Sometimes there are various methods that can be used to measure the same analyte, and most times there are multiple options on the market for each method. How can you sift through all the available information to find the best solution for your lab? One tried-and-true method is to learn from oth- ers who have already done exactly that. Step one: Measure what matters to you. Before consid- ering technology and the merits of various methods, it helps to start one step further back. Why does quality control mat- ter? It is about making good, timely decisions in the cellar. Quality measurement for its own sake is not the point — the value is in actionable information. What will make the wine better? More consistent? For someone starting or upgrading a winery lab, assistant winemaker Anna Prost at A to Z Wineworks in Newberg, Ore., says, "Set yourself up to measure what matters to you and the winery. Which numbers are actionable? Is this going to influ- ence your winemaking?" Start with these questions: How do I make decisions in the cellar now? How could I back up those decisions with objec- tive data? What do other winemakers measure? What do they do with the information they gather? This will help you to understand what you should measure and why. Don't forget that the lab can and should be the first line of defense in dam- age prevention by helping to find problems faster. Bill Snyder, technical director at Testarossa Winery in Los Gatos, Calif., offers: "Examine your own comfort level with the lab work and the numbers side of things. … What are you looking to get out of it? For me, for anything that we are look- ing at doing … it is all about actionable data. At the end of the day, the numbers are in service of the winemaking." Step two: Consider your present situation and future goals. Once you know what parameters you want to be able to measure, the next step is to understand your current situ- ation and goals to ensure you set yourself up for success now and in the future. How much wine are you making now? How much space do you have? How much wine do you want to be making in five years? Fifteen years? This will help you avoid investing in tools you will quickly outgrow. The last thing you want is for the lab to become the bottleneck in the winery. At A to Z Wineworks, Prost suggests: "What is the piece of equipment you can grow into? Plan ahead and scale appropri- ately. Do not box yourself in with a small piece of equipment." Step three: Do your homework and consider options. Once you know what you need to measure and how often, the next step is to look at the available options. Adam Burdett, Upgrading Traditional Lab Analysis Potential impacts on quality and winemaking confidence By Stacey Moskwa Lauren Wheeler of Penner-Ash Wine Cellars in Newberg, Ore., uses the Y15 for analysis year-round.