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80 W i n e s & V i n e s M A R C H 2 0 1 4 WineEast serve you better in the long run since it will be less likely to have its probe crushed or encounter some calamity such as being run over by a forklift. My personal favorite is the Hanna bench model that is designed for wineries. It has a standardized set point for a 3.0 pH buffer as well as the other standards. In this way the meter is standardized on the exact range for wine. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Mettler Toledo, Metrohm USA, Orion, VWR Scientific, Thomas Scientific, Cynmar, Milwaukee Instru- ments, Cole-Parmer Instrument and Denver Instrument all have good instruments as well. A good, solid unit that will last many years will cost $500-$800. Ethanol From a regulatory standpoint, this is one of the most important analyses a winery performs. The tax on wine is based on the amount of alcohol it contains, and your analysis determines that level. With global warming, more wines are exceeding the magic 14% alcohol level where higher wine taxes are assessed. The analytical error for dry wines using an ebulliometer accumulates based on several factors: air pressure (+/- 0.5%), thermometer reading (+/- 0.04%), conversion scale (+/- 0.02%). The closer a winery's wines are to 14%, the better the instrumen- tation needed so that the winery doesn't pay any more taxes than required. Dujardin de Salleron of France makes the vast majority of the units sold in this country. Other companies include GAB Siste- matica Analitica of Spain and EON Trading LLC of Bulgaria. There are two types of ebulliometer. The standard version that is heated with an alcohol burner has been manufactured for decades. The setup time to establish the current boiling point of water with this instrument is 15 minutes, and it takes an additional 15 min- utes for each sample. The new winery or the wine laboratory wishing to improve throughput should seriously consider the electronically heated version of this unit. The time saved in number of analyses per hour can quickly cover the extra cost of the electronic heating. The time saved for one analysis, including the barometric set point, is 20 minutes, plus a savings of 10 minutes for each sample after the first one. Based on an average of four wine samples analyzed simul- taneously, the daily savings is 40 minutes (or more if the weather changes while testing and another air-pressure sample is required). At this rate, it doesn't take long to save $500 in labor costs and pay for the better instrument. A completely digital version is also available. While providing more accuracy in data gathering, it is considerably more expensive and Carolina Wine Supply The Southeast's Most Complete Winery Supply Company Stocking Distributor for Nomacorc - Synthetic Closures Hanna Instruments - Testing Equipment Enartis Vinquiry - Winemaking Products Full Line of Crusher/Destemmers, Presses & Tanks 336-677-6831 Yadkinville, NC www.CarolinaWineSupply.com Excellent for spraying: VINEYARDS, vegetables, orchards, nurseries, Christmas trees, mosquitoes, cattle, chicken houses, etc. Low Maintenance High Performance Motor Models available S a l e s C o m p a n y – Mist Sprayers – References available in your area American Made We offer a complete line of low volume mist blowers. For free brochure contact: Swihart Sales Co. 7240 County Road AA, Quinter, KS 67752 785-754-3513 or 800-864-4595 www.swihart-sales.com Daily wine industry news winesandvines.com The ideal lab would have a bench measuring meter and a portable one to take to the bin/tank and measure directly from the container. Winemaking