wine analytical services

a prestigious wine analysing service in the winemaking industry of the beautiful western cape

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About Us

we offer affordable professional consistent wine analysing service.

Wine Analytical Service Laboratory (WASLab) offers a wine analysis services to the winemaking industry in the Stellenbosch region, South Africa.

The laboratory started off as part of Spier Wines the prestigious and multi-faceted wine farm in the heart of the Cape Winelands to render wine analysis services to the wine producing activities on the farm itself. Over time this service also expanded to include certain customers from other wine producing cellars in the geographical area.

Former Spier employee, Merecia Smith, has launched WAS Laboratory, the Western Cape's first black-owned wine analysis laboratory.

In a statement, Smith joined the farm in 1998 as a general worker and first started working in the wine analysis laboratory four years later.

what do we offer

WASLab renders a wine analytical service on two levels:

WASLabs core focus is on the wine producing industry of Spier Wines itself. The laboratory analyses all wine samples according to the requirements of the cellar winemakers.

The purpose of the analysis is to give the winemakers scientific information and values of the status and content of their wines so that they can make adjustments to the winemaking and storage process if required, in order to produce wine of good and specific quality.

Analysing activities peak during the annual wine making season from March to July when the laboratory’s service forms an essential part of the chain of activities to produce wine of high quality.

On a secondary level, the laboratory is responsible to analyse already produced wine that is bought in bulk from external sources and other cellars.

It is also responsible for the analysis of wine exported in bulk and of wine to be bottled for the local market.

Wine exported in bulk is analysed before being shipped as well as upon arrival in the destination country. This quality control measure servers to be able to determine possible changes that might have occurred in the wine during the period of shipping and to verify the quality of the wine delivered to the customer.

our prime foucs is being on accuracy, quick turnaround time, with a special personal touch!

how do we analyse your wine

Sample analysis takes place according to the schedules that the winemakers submit with samples to be analysed. Analysis is a complex process which is done according to ISO 17025 and ISO 22000 guidelines and principles. Theses standards deal with the following:

Wine Analytical Services is part of the Wine Laboratories Associations (SAWLA)

Daily QC checks against a known standard are performed before any client wine samples are analysed. The daily checks are recorded

Positioned under the top 10 out of 50 wine laboratories in the testing and validation process.

Yearly, we calibrate all our laboratory equipment at a Sanas Accredited Institution to ensure that the results we submit is correct.

our wine analysis spectrum includes values for the following:

Alcohol pycnometer, Alcolyzer and Density Meter
Specific gravity (Sg)
Extract
Residual sugars
Balling
Free sulphur (Ripper and Aspiration method)
Total sulphur (Ripper and Aspiration method)
Ph
Total titratable acid

Protein stability
Cold stability (overnight at 18°C) (-4°C for 72 hours) (4°C for 6 days)
Turbidity
Filterability
Volatile Acidity
DC02
Malolactic fermentation (MLF)
Bento fining
Pinking

Analysing of wine samples are done with the following calibrated laboratory equipment:

Although the laboratory fulfils a typical backroom role within the bigger context of Spier Wines, the success of Spier Wines and the prestigious image that it has built up in the winemaking industry over many years, would not have been possible without the laboratory’s input.

The role of laboratories of this nature has become essential in the wine industry where a scientific approach has become the norm to ensure competitiveness in, and of, the industry.

Although there is nothing wrong with wine lovers cherishing fairy-tale-like images of winemakers doing magical things in cobwebbed cellars to produce outstanding wines, the reality is that, apart from their own magic, winemakers rely on the role that the laboratory plays in the process of winemaking.

Analysing of wine samples are done with the following calibrated laboratory equipment: