Instant Grape Test Ensures Quality Wine

10/09/07 Healthy grapes of the right quality are a prerequisite for quality wine. As winemakers start this year's production many will therefore be using a quality test from analytical solution providers FOSS.

The test is provided by a simple-to-use analyser that helps winemakers decide when to pick grapes and how best to use them.

Winemakers use the analyser to supplement traditional visual inspection of grapes and experienced users have reported a direct correlation between grape quality measurements and the quality of finished wine. Simple, routine measurements of grapes allow the harvest to be planned proactively according to quality targets and deliveries from the fields can be managed in 'real time' by sorting for optimal results in the winemaking process.

Payment check as grapes are delivered

The analyser can also help to decide payment for grapes. The patented FOSS technique is unique in providing an objective measurement of both grape soundness and grape maturity that can be performed directly at the grape receiving station. Analysis results are delivered within two minutes helping to decide fair payment for grapes according to the winemaker's quality goals.

The practice of testing raw material to decide payment is common in other food and drink sectors, but that has yet to take-off in the wine industry where visual inspection remains the norm. However, the situation is changing. Christian Harpsoe, FOSS Wine Market Manager said: "We are experiencing growing interest from quality-conscious producers looking to exploit the payment test option."

Supplementing human knowledge

Introduced in 1999, the FOSS analysers have become popular in step with a growing focus on consistency in wine, both from so called 'new world' wine producers seeking to ensure the same consumer experience regardless of where their brand label wines are made and also from traditional European regions competing against global competition.

According to the IBIS Wine Industry Report, 2007, the top five wine producing countries from the EU account for 60% of world trade - down from 75% in the mid nineties. In contrast, new world producers have increased their share from 8% to 27% in the same period.

One 'new world' user of the FOSS analytical solutions is Eric Wilkes, Group Chemist at Fosters Wine Estates, Australia. Wilkes describes how regular measurements with FOSS analysers are providing vital information to ensure quality results long before the finished wine is bottled. Yet there is little danger that the human winemaker will be replaced by a machine. "I don't think technology will ever render the human factor obsolete, but it will play a much bigger part in our industry in the future," said Wilkes.