Wine testing equipment - help please!

[Siwash]

I am glad that, as you claim from experience, it is even more accurate than the much more costly products... hopefully I will be able to access phosphoric acid. I am a high school teacher so perhaps I can ask my science department colleagues where to get it!

But I believe it comes with enough for few initial tests...

thanks

 

[jburtner]

How accurate is the Vinemetrica SO2 probe / system?

Thx!
-j

 

[Johnd]

How accurate is the Vinemetrica SO2 probe / system?

Thx!
-j

SO2: better than 2 ppm
TA: better than 0.2 g/L
pH: 0.02 pH units

According to their product data

 

[fafrd]

I used Accuvin the first year but I found them difficult to see much difference in color and thus not very accurate. I ended up purchasing the $99 Morewine A/O Rig. A/O is pretty much a good as it gets as far as Free SO2 testing. Very accurate it takes a little bit to come up to speed on how to setup and do the analysis. They have great videos that show you exactly how to set up and perform the test. If you can't afford the Vinemetrica this guy is cheaper and more accurate IMHO. The only thing is it uses phosphoric acid which is expensive to ship due to hazard concern (strong acid) If you can find it locally from a hardware store or pool supply store it will save you $$$ in shipping. The rest of the reagents are dirt cheap. The kit will come with enough phosphoric acid to do 4 test IIRC.

I'm debating between the Accuvin strips, MoreWine $100 A/O test rig, and Vinmetrica SC-100A as well.

These are for my first 2 wines (half-barrel of Merlot, full barrel of Bordeaux) so I'm hesitant to invest too much on test equipment before knowing how long I'll be into winemaking.

I've used the Accuvin strips for MLF, so I'm familiar with them and the difficulty of judging color, but in the case of MLF, pretty much any color other than white indicates MLF is not yet complete, so it's pretty much a binary test.

If these first two wines come out half-decent (meaning not screwed up by oxidation at this stage), we'll be buying more equipment and taking it from there, but for this first vintage, I'm looking for the most economical way to maintain SO2 levels within a safe range over a maturation period of 6-18mos.

Are the Accuvin strips so lousy they'spd be a bad idea? Can they be 'calibrated' by investig in a professional analysis one time and then used to maintain SO2 levels through maturation?

Or would MoreWines AO rig be a better option (I'm in the Bay Area and so should be able to pick up Phosphoric Acid pretty easily).

I recognize this board is dominated by very experienced winemakers but I'm asking your help to harken back to the days when you were just beginning, didn't yet know how big of a part of your lives winemaking would become, and were in the steep part of the learning curve: what's your advice for the most cost-effective way to get a good red wine safely through 6-18 months of maturation as far as monitoring SO2 levels? (Will be aging the Merlot in a Flex Tank and the Bordeaux in VCSS).

 

[Tnuscan]

I'm debating between the Accuvin strips, MoreWine $100 A/O test rig, and Vinmetrica SC-100A as well.

These are for my first 2 wines (half-barrel of Merlot, full barrel of Bordeaux) so I'm hesitant to invest too much on test equipment before knowing how long I'll be into winemaking.

I've used the Accuvin strips for MLF, so I'm familiar with them and the difficulty of judging color, but in the case of MLF, pretty much any color other than white indicates MLF is not yet complete, so it's pretty much a binary test.

If these first two wines come out half-decent (meaning not screwed up by oxidation at this stage), we'll be buying more equipment and taking it from there, but for this first vintage, I'm looking for the most economical way to maintain SO2 levels within a safe range over a maturation period of 6-18mos.

Are the Accuvin strips so lousy they'spd be a bad idea? Can they be 'calibrated' by investig in a professional analysis one time and then used to maintain SO2 levels through maturation?

Or would MoreWines AO rig be a better option (I'm in the Bay Area and so should be able to pick up Phosphoric Acid pretty easily).

I recognize this board is dominated by very experienced winemakers but I'm asking your help to harken back to the days when you were just beginning, didn't yet know how big of a part of your lives winemaking would become, and were in the steep part of the learning curve: what's your advice for the most cost-effective way to get a good red wine safely through 6-18 months of maturation as far as monitoring SO2 levels? (Will be aging the Merlot in a Flex Tank and the Bordeaux in VCSS).

The strips are not as accurate as one would want but can get you close in the red wines.

Do you want consistant accuracy, the A/O is the way to go. No electronics to give troubles.

If you are not sure if your going to stay in this hobby, common sense would be the strips.(if 1 packet is all you need).

Even if you bought the A/O you should still be able to recoup at least 50% of your cost, which would still be the cost of the strips. What I mean is you could sell the A/O kit half price and only be out what the Accuvin strips cost , plus shipping.

 

[ibglowin]

Boy for somebody who is not sure if your gonna stay in this hobby your sure made a lot of wine! LOL

FWIW, we are seeing 85% Phosphoric acid an Amazon for really cheap prices even with shipping these days. Way less than what Morewine is asking for it on their website. The 85% will last a long time as you only need 25% for the test so a simple dilution with distilled water and you can make up enough for 6mo worth of testing. It doesn't go bad either like standardized NaOH does as it is not used as a titrant but rather as an oxidation agent.

 

[fafrd]

The strips are not as accurate as one would want but can get you close in the red wines.

Do you want consistant accuracy, the A/O is the way to go. No electronics to give troubles.

If you are not sure if your going to stay in this hobby, common sense would be the strips.(if 1 packet is all you need).

Even if you bought the A/O you should still be able to recoup at least 50% of your cost, which would still be the cost of the strips. What I mean is you could sell the A/O kit half price and only be out what the Accuvin strips cost , plus shipping.

Thanks. I had a long discussion with MoreWine and was coming to that very same conclusion. The chemicals apparently expire after 6 months, but MoreWine indicated that the per-test cost of their A/O is lower than even the Vinmetrica. So looks like I'll be investing $100 in a chemistry set .

If the A/O route is reliable and just not as fast and easy as Vinmetrica, I think that's the right way to start.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Tnuscan]

Thanks. I had a long discussion with MoreWine and was coming to that very same conclusion. The chemicals apparently expire after 6 months, but MoreWine indicated that the per-test cost of their A/O is lower than even the Vinmetrica. So looks like I'll be investing $100 in a chemistry set .

If the A/O route is reliable and just not as fast and easy as Vinmetrica, I think that's the right way to start.

Thanks again for the advice.

If you go with A/O probably wouldn't hurt to get a extra flask in case you break one. lol

 

[fafrd]

If you go with A/O probably wouldn't hurt to get a extra flask in case you break one. lol

Sounds as though you have been there and done that .

I have a TA test kit that came with a flask, so not sure how much each of these kits can act as a backup for another.

Haven't had to think about chemistry since high-school, but looks like 'here we go' .

 

[Boatboy24]

Thanks. I had a long discussion with MoreWine and was coming to that very same conclusion. The chemicals apparently expire after 6 months, but MoreWine indicated that the per-test cost of their A/O is lower than even the Vinmetrica. So looks like I'll be investing $100 in a chemistry set .

If the A/O route is reliable and just not as fast and easy as Vinmetrica, I think that's the right way to start.

Thanks again for the advice.

I'm jumping in late, but with that quantity of wine, you don't want to leave too much to chance. I think the A/O rig is the right call. Strips won't do much for you, but the Vinmetrica may be overkill for someone new to the hobby.

 

[fafrd]

I'm jumping in late, but with that quantity of wine, you don't want to leave too much to chance. I think the A/O rig is the right call. Strips won't do much for you, but the Vinmetrica may be overkill for someone new to the hobby.

Thanks for the advice - that's the way I'm leaning.