Polyphenol analyser for the wine industry

Vinventions, in partnership with Jet Technologies, has launched a decision-making tool that measures the polyphenol content in must (early-stage wine) and wine at different stages of the winemaking process.

The polyphenols in wine determine many of its sensory properties, such as appearance, colour, acidity and overall flavour — while also influencing its stability throughout the oxidation process, making the management of polyphenol content crucial to wine quality.

Serving as a solution to manage and measure the polyphenol during their extraction, the NomaSense PolyScan allows winemakers to manage the critical elaboration phases of the winemaking process, such as pressing or fermentative skin contact.

“The more you go back to the beginning of the winemaking process, the more you understand that polyphenols are an incredibly important factor to driving the oxidative evolution of wine,” said Marc Schelcher, General Manager, Asia Pacific, Vinventions. “With over 15 years of research into understanding the influences that both polyphenols and oxygen have on wine, we wanted to expand the decision-making tools that support the winemaking process. This led us to developing the NomaSense PolyScan.”

As one of Vinventions’ first Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices, the PolyScan works to manage and measure the polyphenol content in wine and must with pre-calibrated electrodes — with all results produced in real time.

“To interpret this real-time data, the PolyScan analyser splits the results into two separate measurements of concentrations — EasyOx and PhenOx — which are used to determine the correct course of action to take to ensure wine quality. EasyOx represents wine with easily oxidisable compounds, which are rapidly involved in oxidation reactions, where PhenOx represents the total oxidisable compounds (total polyphenols). Each of these representations can define whether a wine’s polyphenol content needs to be reduced or eliminated at the beginning of the winemaking process,” Schelcher added.

“Vinventions has been a strong partner of Jet Technologies for many years, and alongside its diverse range of quality wine solutions, the launch of the PolyScan decision-making tool will serve as an integral tool for winemakers looking to perfect the early stages of the winemaking process by correctly managing polyphenol content. In collaboration with Vinventions, we’re excited to bring this important innovation to Australian winemakers,” said Daniel Malki, General Manager, Jet Technologies.