Apr
2012
To avoid spoilage characters and hours of work on starter cultures in the cold days ahead, it is important to acknowledge sluggish ferments early and act quickly with the appropriate rescue yeast.
Rescue yeast
Fermichamp has the specific ability to metabolise fructose (the dominant sugar found in most stuck ferments) in high alcohol conditions. Early intervention on ferments that are slowing and at risk of becoming stuck can produce results with very little negative impact and save extra effort if intervention is left too late.
Fermichamp is a great solution for problem fermentations. Designed to metabolize fructose in high alcohol conditions (up to...
Continue reading Rescuing Stuck or Sluggish Yeast Ferments
Apr
2012
With harvest coming to an end in most regions of Australia, many of you will be happy to put the challenges of this growing season behind you! Primary and secondary fermentations are now in full swing which brings a new set of challenges, such as producing wines without excessive levels of spoilage compounds.
Three compounds that can impart undesirable characteristics to a wine are acetic acid (vinegar character), acetaldehyde (bruised apple character) and ethyl acetate (nail polish remover character). All three compounds are produced via chemical and microbial processes during and after fermentation, usually below spoilage levels. Certain conditions, however, can...
Continue reading Post Fermentation spoilage compound analysis
Apr
2012
For best results take note of the following:
Sample
-
make sure your Sample spots are as small & concentrated as possible.
-
always allow the spots to dry between applications.
Solvent
-
It is most important to ensure the plate is completely dry between the applications of Solvent & Indicator. Use warm air from a hairdryer to dry the Solvent from the TLC plate. Any acetic acid odours mean more drying is necessary.
-
this is Corrosive & also Flammable. Please wear gloves and safety glasses and handle in a well ventilated area.
-
on drying, if the background of your plate is more yellow rather than blue/green, then your Solvent...
Continue reading Product Tip: Malic acid testing by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)
Apr
2012
It is good practice in a winery lab to always degas wine samples prior to analysis of titratable acidity (TA).
This is of particular importance at this time of year for wines that have just finished primary or secondary fermentation, as they can contain a high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide. In wine, carbon dioxide exists as carbonic acid, which interferes in the measurement of TA to give erroneously high values.
Here are a few options for degassing samples:
-
Add about 100mL of wine to a chner vacuum flask, insert the stopper, attach the side arm to a vacuum pump and gently shake...
Continue reading Lab Tip: De-gas your TA sample to get accurate results
Mar
2012
"Do you know the correct concentration of your sodium hydroxide solution?"
Introduction
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions are one of the main reagents used in a wine laboratory.
The accuracy of your Sulfur Dioxide, Titratable Acidity (TA) and Volatile Acidity (VA) results are dependent on these solutions having accurately known concentration values.
NaOH absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and reacts with it to form sodium carbonate, thus lowering the concentration of NaOH over time.
Standardisation procedure
The true concentration of NaOH solutions should therefore be determined by standardising them regularly with a standard hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. One way of doing this (for a 0.1M NaOH...
Continue reading Standardising Sodium Hydroxide Solutions : Factsheet
Mar
2012
The concentrations of the Standards we supply with our kits are designed to give a good working range with a typical spectrophotometer.
For example, the Ammonium Standard is typically 40 mg/L (ppm); this gives an absorbance of around 0.5 absorbance units. Likewise the Malic Acid Standard is typically around 0.2 g/L and gives an absorbance range of typically 0.5 Abs.
The ideal situation for best accuracy is to try to get your samples diluted so that they are of a similar concentration to the Standard.
For example, if you expected a juice sample from a particular vineyard to have about 200 ppm Ammonia,...
Continue reading Product Tip : Dilution rates for samples when using Enzymatic Test Kits
Mar
2012
Anchor NT50: A yeast for producing fruity red wines
NT 50 enhances red berries (strawberry, raspberry and cherry), black berries (blackberry and black currant) and spicy aromas in red wines. It is suitable for wine with or without wood maturation. It is most suited for vinifying Shiraz, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel.
NT50 has the following attributes:
-
Strong fermenter
-
Cold tolerance of 13°C makes it suitable for pre-fermentation cold soaking
-
Optimum temp range 14 - 28°C
-
Alcohol tolerance 16.5%
-
Glycerol production 11 - 13 g/L
-
Volatile acidity production is generally lower than 0.3 g/L
Continue reading Product recommendation March 2012 - Anchor NT50
Mar
2012
Red and White premium wine yeasts Discounts for 500g packs – while limited stocks last!
Very limited quantities of ‘still fresh’ yeast are available at over 40% off List Price.
Although just past their original use-by date, these yeasts have been re-tested and given extended use-by dates as they are still within specification (within use-by date packs also available at normal List Price).
Fermicru VR5 for premium red wines
VR5 is ideally suited to the production of red wines for aging. It enhances the structure, body and aromatic finesse of major red grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.
VR5 encourages...
Continue reading Winemaking Yeasts - March Product Specials
Feb
2012
The team at Anchor Yeast have had published an article in the March 2012 issue of Grapegrower and Winemaker magazine on the newly released NT202 Co-inoculant bacteria.
The conclusion was that Anchor NT 202 Co-Inoculant when used with Anchor Yeast NT 202 ensure a simple, secure and speedy AF and MLF.
Advantages over inoculation after alcoholic fermentation were:
-
the heat of the fermentation favours bacterial growth
-
the bacteria is inoculated into 0% alcohol and has time to adapt to rising alcohol levels
-
ample nutrient supply
-
the wine can be sulfured sooner and is thus protected against microbial spoilage (Brettanomyces)
The authors are E. Lerm and M. du...
Continue reading Anchor NT202 Co-inoculant bacteria
Feb
2012
What is smoke taint?
Smoke from fires, particularly bushfires, can affect the flavour of grapes. The impact of smoke on grapes and the resultant wine varies considerably and a lot of research is being done at the moment to better understand this important issue.
Wine made from grapes that have been smoke affected have been described as having some of the following attributes: “burnt” “ashtray” “charred” “salami” “disinfectant” etc. Wine can be unfit for sale if the taint is too great.
When are grapes most susceptible to smoke taint?
The time of the season is critical for the impact that smoke uptake can cause....
Continue reading Smoke Taint in Grapes and Wine : Factsheet
Subscribe to these Articles