Production Guide: Wine Analysis Expected Results

Introduction

The analytical evaluation of wines can provide enological clues to the status of the wine. If conducted periodically at key points in production, analytical results can indicate a potential problem developing in the wine. Having analytical results can reduce the guess work associated with what is going wrong, saving time and resources to winemakers when they need to remediate a wine.

Monitoring volatile acidity (VA), for example, post-primary fermentation, post-malolactic fermentation (MLF), and periodically during wine storage is an essential part of winemaking analytical requirements. This assessment, when conducted over time, can allude to potential oxygen exposure and microbial issues. Refer to the Essential Wine Production Analyses Checklist as a reference for minimal analytical testing required through the production life of a wine.

Explanation of Tables

The following table provides an overall explanation of potential values or indicators a winemaker may see from fundamental analytical results associated with winemaking. Again, these analyses are the minimal expectation associated with winemaking.