Juice Analyses

Note

New York Wine & Grape Foundation is able to subsidize the costs of analyses for New York grape-based products from bonded wineries and cideries that hold a winery license.  This subsidy will be based on your membership status with NYWGF, and your invoice will come directly from them.

Juice Panel -Only for 100% grape-based juices*

  • Purpose: Snapshot of juice chemistry:  pH, titratable acidity (at pH 8.2), soluble solids (Brix) and yeast asimmilable nitrogen (YAN)
  • Technique: Titration, pH Meter, Refractometer, Spectrophotometer
    • Price- $75

Acidity: pH

  • Purpose: A measure of hydrogen ion concentration, pH affects microbial stability, concentration of molecular SO2, tartrate stability, and the perception of wine structure. 
  • Technique: pH meter
  • Analysis notes: Due to the buffering capacity of wine, pH is not always directly correlated with wine TA.
    • Price- $10

Acidity: Organic Acid Panel (malic, lactic, citric, acetic)

  • Purpose: A measure of the primary acids found in wine.
  • Technique: Enzymatic assay (malic, lactic, citric, acetic)
    • Price- $40/acid
  • Analysis notes: Malic and tartaric are the primary acids found in grape juice, with lesser amounts of citric acid.  Juice and wines produced from other fruits will be dominated by malic (apple) or citric (berries) acids.

Acidity: Titratable Acidity (TA)

  • Purpose: A measure of the acids in wine that can be neutralized with a base.
  • Technique: Autotitration (to pH 8.2) and pH meter
  • Analysis notes: Titratable acidity most closely corresponds to the sensory perception of acid strength; it should not to be confused with total acidity. Expressed in g/L tartaric acid equivalents.
    • Price- $20

Sugars: Soluble Solids (Brix)

  • Purpose: This measurement of the dissolved compounds in grape juice yields the approximate sugar concentration.
  • Technique: refractometry
    • Price- $10

Sulfur: Free Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

  • Purpose: Sulfur dioxide is used as an antimicrobial and antioxidant in wine production.
  • Technique: Flow injection- automated aeration/ oxidation
    • Price- $20

Sulfur: Total Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

  • Purpose: Sulfur dioxide is used as an antimicrobial and antioxidant in wine production.
  • Technique: Flow injection- automated aeration/ oxidation
  • Analysis Notes: Legal limit = 350 mg/L; concentrations above 10 mg/L (ppm) require the label to include the warning "contains sulfites." TTB CFR 4.22(b)(1)
    • Price- $20

Trace Elements: Copper, Potassium, Calcium, and Iron

  • Purpose: The concentration of dissolved analytes can affect wine stability. Excess calcium and potassium can promote tartrate precipitation, and copper and iron favor oxidation.
  • Technique: Atomic absorbance
  • Analysis notesTurn around on this analysis is about one week.
    The amount of residual copper in wine cannot exceed 0.5 ppm.   TTB CFR 24.246
    • Price- $45 per element

Turbidity

  • Purpose: Turbidity is a measurement of juice clarity, which is reduced by the presence of suspended solids.
  • Technique: Nephelometer
  • Analysis notes: For sound grapes, a range of 100-250 NTU is generally considered optimum for a healthy fermentation.
    • Price- $15

Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen (YAN): Ammonia (NH3) and α-Amino Nitrogen (NOPA)

  • Purpose: Quantification of the total nitrogen available to yeast for fermentation.
  • Technique:  Enzymatic analysis
  • Analysis notes: Insufficient YAN can lead to slow or stuck fermentations and excessive hydrogen sulfide production.
    • Price- $45

Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen (YAN): α-Amino Nitrogen (NOPA) ONLY

  • Purpose: Quantification of the total nitrogen available to yeast for fermentation.
  • Technique:  Enzymatic analysis
  • Analysis notes: Apple juice generally has no ammonia, so only the α-Amino Nitrogen assay is required.
    • Price- $25

Consultation

  • Purpose: Troubleshooting or production planning beyond that related to service analyses
  • Analysis notes: Enology extension faculty and staff are available for consultation, but please note that we are not able to provide general product development assistance.
    • Price- $150/hr

* New York Wine & Grape Foundation is able to subsidize the costs of analyses for New York bonded wineries.  This subsidy will be based on your membership status with NYWGF, and your invoice will come directly from them.

Sample Submission Instructions

  1. Complete the online order form.
  2. Provide a 750mL sample to allow for duplicate analyses and additional tests, if necessary.  If only a single analysis is requested, a 375mL sample is generally adequate.
  3. Label all samples with the winery name and some identifying information, especially when submitting multiple samples.
  4. Wine samples must be submitted in completely full containers.
  5. Freeze juice samples and ship by next day air. Indicate that the sample is frozen on the outside of the shipping container. 
  6. For distillate/ kombucha samples where alcohol content is the only requested analysis, 100 ml is sufficient.  Please make sure the sample is in a full, sealed container (spirits) or is chilled and can hold pressure (kombucha).

Mail or hand-deliver your sample(s) to the following address:

NYS Wine Lab Attn: Pam Raes
Cornell Agritech- 110 Food Research Laboratory
665 W. North Street
​Geneva, NY 14456 USA