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November 2016 WINES&VINES 89 WINEMAKING Kits for Spectrometers" gives a list of the analyses performed by each company's device. Randox and Megazyme are primarily enzyme and reagents producers, and both companies got into the equipment business to help sell their enzymes and provide a full service to their cus- tomers. There are enough simi- larities between the addition rates and the functional operation that a winery can convert one com- pany's enzyme kits for use in the other's instrument. Be aware that modifications in test protocols will likely need to be made. There are differences in the analyses that each company has available and for which their instruments are designed to run. The analyses may be able to be performed, but not in automated mode. Randox can analyze cations using their test kits. Megazyme does not sell cation test kits. If a winery wants to run those tests, they should consider the choice of adding the protocol to a Mega- zyme unit or purchasing a Randox Monza. Astoria-Pacific has a more open-architecture software, and I believe they would be able to in- clude cation analysis, if needed. The Monza has 64 direct ac- cess keys for 64 analyses and has a greater number of programma- ble channels for analysis (192). It comes with two more standard filters than the MegaQuant Wave. The Monza has a free-standing heating block that does not come as part of the unit and must be plugged in separately. This Monza has fewer places than the Mega- Quant Wave, and it accepts only cuvettes, not round tubes. At 12 kg (26 pounds), the Monza is heftier in both weight and price than the MegaQuant Wave. Astoria Pacific I first saw the Astoria Pacific in- strument in Europe many years ago. At that time, Astoria Pacific was a fledgling company, and it has grown over the years. The Astoria-Pacific line brings in sev- eral interesting elements but at a significantly increased price above the two previously discussed systems. Instruments at this level use auto-sampling. Auto-sampling re- quires a much more complicated means of delivery of the test com- ponents, including the sample wines. Each reagent must be in- stalled in the instrument for a run prior to a test. For example, L- malic acid has four different com- ponents for the test plus the wine sample and water. Bottles of test reagents and water are placed into the instrument, each in its specific holder. The wine samples are transferred into empty sample bottles in trays that are fed into the instrument. In sequence, re- agent from each of the four re- agent bottles enters the reaction c h a m b e r o f t h e i n s t r u m e n t through a series of tubes. A probe then sucks a sample of wine out of each sample bottle in the tray. The instrument then analyzes the reaction mixture in essentially the same manner as the other two instruments discussed above. The reaction chamber is small, on the order of 250 µl to 500 µl, so very small amounts of test com- ponents are needed. Once the reaction is completed, the reaction chamber is evacuated, rinsed and prepared for the next sample. This overly simplified descrip- tion varies somewhat within the range of companies that service this sector of analytical instru- ments. The differentiating factor is both the software and the au- tomation of the systems. Astoria- Pacific has a robust software MiniFIX • 10 sizes from 5uL to 1000uL • Good for ~5,000 pipettings • Blister packed with accuracy data • Autoclavable Polypropypene Visit www.Dynalon.com for break resistant pipette tips, beakers, cylinders, burettes carboys and labware essentials Micropipettes When you require Speed and Precision! ® The wine laboratory is as important to the success of a winery as any other element in the process of setting up that winery. AUGUST 16, 2017 FOR THE FOURTH ANNUAL WINES & VINES PACKAGING CONFERENCE W&V PACK returns with another day of packaging innovation WVPACK WINES & VINES PACKAGING CONFERENCE & SAVE THE DATE For complete schedule, speakers, sessions and registration information, visit wvpack.com