WineLab Touch

Another booth that we visited when we went to the Eastern Winery Exposition in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was the Quartz Analytics booth, where they were showcasing the WineLab Touch. We stopped to chat with Carly and Jennifer who showed us how to take a pH reading in minutes.

The instrument has the following attributes as mentioned on their site:

• System - Photometer with temperature controlled at 37°C
• Measurement - Solid state opto-electronic devices
• Photometric Range - 620nm, 578nm, 520nm, 420nm, 366nm, 280nm (wavelengths)
• Photometric Module - 8 channels with different wavelengths each, in 4 reading cells
• Incubation Module - 37°C thermostat block with 16 positions

The WineLab Touch can take the measurements for the following:

• Acetic Acid
• Total Acidity
• L-Lactic Acid
• L-Malic Acid
• Malolactic fermentation
• Free and Total SO₂
• Glucose and Fructose
• Fermentable Sugars
• Alcohol
• pH
• Acetaldehyde
• Glycerol in wine and must
• Copper
• Gluconic Acid
• Yeast assumable nitrogen (YAN)
• Anthocyanins in wine and must
• TPI – Total Polyphenols Index at 280nm
• Polyphenols
• Catechins
• Colour intensity and tonality

It seems like an amazing little instrument which uses only 50 µL of sample. The WineLab touch comes with the pipetter. You will have to buy the reagents that come premixed and ready to use in it's own cuvette to do the necessary measurements. The equipment that is shown is approximately $7000.00, but there is a smaller format WineLab Touch that costs about $4000.00. Maybe someday.....