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WINERY & VINEYARD EQUIPMENT 86 WINES&VINES January 2018 L ababoratory analysis for the wine in- dustry has seen many innovations in equipment during the past decade. The technology has developed to the point that the traditional wet chemistry winery lab of the past is becoming the equivalent of a buggy whip. Advances in equipment allow anyone who can follow a cooking recipe to become proficient in a wine laboratory. For this article, Wines & Vines obtained labo- ratory equipment from some of the major sup- pliers for small to medium-sized wineries. This equipment offers a variety of ways to modernize a winery lab and increase the value of the ana- lytical data while still fitting into a winery's budget. In many cases, using some modern lab techniques and equipment will reduce the total average cost per analysis compared to wet chemistry methods, especially when the time per analysis is taken into consideration. After narrowing down the most important analyses a winery should be performing on a regular basis, we conducted these tests on each piece of equipment, using the same wine sample for a given analysis. ETS Laboratories provided a third-party reference to determine analytical baselines. Laboratory instruments and how they work Agápi Lab Solutions – Ebulliometer A lower cost alternative to electronic instruments The Agápi ebulliometer was developed for the measure of alcohol; it is similar to Dujardin- Salleron's electronic instrument but costs be- tween 25% and 30% less. The unit has glass replacement parts that, if broken, are easy and relatively inexpensive to replace. Temperature is measured by a National Institute of Stan- dards traceable digital thermometer, which is easier to read than standard mercury ther- mometers. However, they also have a less ex- pensive mercury thermometer model. Agápi Lab Solutions – Sartorius Biosart Plating bottled wine made simple Agápi Lab Solutions is a Sartorius distributor. The Sartorius Biosart uses an integrated system of equipment that makes it easy for the average person to plate bottle samples and detect mi- croorganisms. The user pours a wine sample into a sterile funnel/membrane unit that fits onto a manifold, which collects all microorgan- isms onto a sterile membrane. The membrane is transferred onto a sterile nutrient pad that is then incubated in a warm location, allowing any microbes to grow. The system requires a simple enclosure to protect against false-positive results in the sampling environment. The Agápi Lab enclo- sure is inexpensive and can be disassembled easily for storage when not in use. CDR WineLab An all-in-one lab instrument with a straightforward principle The CDR WineLab, a new entrant in laboratory equipment, has two models: CDR WineLab (used for this article) and CDR WineLab Jr. The CDR WineLab lists 25 separate analyses ap- plicable for the wine industry, whereas the Jr. does 16 tests. The supplier declined to disclose prices for this equipment. The instrument is built on a spectrometer- based technology that uses specific wavelength LED emitters. This technique has allowed them to expand the measurable Absorbance Units (A) in the linear range to 6A. There are four separate analytical bays using six different wavelengths that perform the tests. The instru- ment has 16 heated slots (Jr. has three) where the sample cuvettes used for analysis reside in preparation for analysis. The test is run using a touch-screen LCD. The menu lists the analyses that the instru- ment will run. There are several ways to store and retrieve data. First, the instrument itself can store thousands of analytical results. Second, there is a USB Type 2 port for techni- cal service to the instrument and connection to a PC as well as a direct Ethernet LAN port and two USB 2.0 ports for database transfer of the performed tests and software updates and configuration. The instrument can con- duct more than one test at a time and has an 80-mm graphic printer (the Jr. does not have these features). The CDR WineLab has a straightforward testing principle. Most tests kits have one or more reagent bottles assembled in a pack of Putting Modern Lab Equipment to the Test A comparison of analytical equipment for small to medium-sized wineries By Richard Carey One of Hanna Instruments' Mini Titrators measures free and total SO 2 .