Managing the health and productivity of grapevines while meeting stringent market and regulatory standards is a fine balance. One of the most effective tools available to wine grape growers is agrochemical testing. By systematically analysing for chemical residues, growers can make informed decisions that support vine health and compliance with contractual and export requirements. Agrochemical

The majority of this content was originally published in Aust. NZ Grapegrower & Winemaker, March 2022 – Issue 698. Introduction Affinity Labs has recently changed the way smoke panel analysis results are reported for Australian customers. Apart from numerical results, reports now include graphs showing where the results sit compared to levels typically present in

Introduction Research at the AWRI and other research organisations has demonstrated that phenolic compounds such as guaiacol, 4 methylguaiacol, cresol and syringol contribute to off-flavours and aromas in wine made from grapes that have been exposed smoke. These volatile phenols can also bind to sugars within grape berries to form phenolic glycosides, which also contribute

Ethyl carbamate and urethane is formed during the production of wine resulting from the reaction between urea or other related precursors and ethanol. Urea is derived largely from the yeast metabolism of arginine, which is an abundant amino acid in grape juice. The rate of production of ethyl carbamate is influenced by the concentration of

Phthalates are widely used as additives (plasticisers) in the production of plastic materials, such as PVC, and act to soften the materials to increase its processability, flexibility and extensibility. They are also added to paints, varnishes and rubbers as well as to certain food packaging materials. Phthalates are not chemically bound to the materials they

Validation of Sentia™ hand-held portable analyser The client Universal Biosensors is a global biosensor company and a world leader in electrochemicalcell technology. The Sentia™ hand-held portable analyser provides efficient and accurateelectrochemical detection of a range of wine analytes throughout the wine productionprocess. It uses disposable test strips that only require a small sample volume and

Comparison of common methods for measuring alcohol in wine One of the most commonly measured and heavily regulated aspects of wine production and sale is its alcoholic content, usually expressed in terms of percent alcohol volume per volume (% alcohol by volume, % v/v). In typical table wines this alcohol content is made up mostly