HILLEROED, Denmark, September 5 /PRNewswire/ --     Healthy grapes of the right quality are a prerequisite for quality wine.
As winemakers start this year's production many will therefore be using a
quality test from analytical solution providers FOSS.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/271126 )

The test is provided by a simple-to-use analyser that helps winemakers
decide when to pick grapes and how best to use them.

Winemakers use the analyser to supplement traditional visual inspection
of grapes and experienced users have reported a direct correlation between
grape quality measurements and the quality of finished wine. Simple, routine
measurements of grapes allow the harvest to be planned proactively according
to quality targets and deliveries from the fields can be managed in 'real
time' by sorting for optimal results in the winemaking process.

Payment check as grapes are delivered

The analyser can also help to decide payment for grapes. The patented
FOSS technique is unique in providing an objective measurement of both grape
soundness and grape maturity that can be performed directly at the grape
receiving station. Analysis results are delivered within two minutes helping
to decide fair payment for grapes according to the winemaker's quality goals.

The practice of testing raw material to decide payment is common in other
food and drink sectors, but that has yet to take-off in the wine industry
where visual inspection remains the norm. However, the situation is changing.
Christian Harpsoe, FOSS Wine Market Manager said: "We are experiencing
growing interest from quality-conscious producers looking to exploit the
payment test option."

Supplementing human knowledge

Introduced in 1999, the FOSS analysers have become popular in step with a
growing focus on consistency in wine, both from so called 'new world' wine
producers seeking to ensure the same consumer experience regardless of where
their brand label wines are made and also from traditional European regions
competing against global competition.

According to the IBIS Wine Industry Report, 2007, the top five wine
producing countries from the EU account for 60% of world trade - down from
75% in the mid nineties. In contrast, new world producers have increased
their share from 8% to 27% in the same period.

One 'new world' user of the FOSS analytical solutions is Eric Wilkes,
Group Chemist at Fosters Wine Estates, Australia. Wilkes describes how
regular measurements with FOSS analysers are providing vital information to
ensure quality results long before the finished wine is bottled. Yet there is
little danger that the human winemaker will be replaced by a machine. "I
don't think technology will ever render the human factor obsolete, but it
will play a much bigger part in our industry in the future," said Wilkes.

More information

FOSS analysers use infrared light to measure quality parameters based on
the absorption of visual light at specific wavelengths. In addition to
analysis of grapes, wine can be analysed throughout production, for example,
in fermentation and during maturity and storage.

Please see http://www.foss.dk/Solutions/BusinessAreas/Wine.aspx.

For further information please contact:

    Local language contacts
    France
    info@foss.fr
    Tel: +33-(0)146-491-919

    Spain
    general@foss.es
    Tel: +34-934-949-940

    Italy
    fossitalia@foss.it
    Tel: +39-(0)49-828-7211

    Germany
    info@foss.de
    Tel: +49-(0)410-151-780

    International
    Wine Market Manager, FOSS, ch@foss.dk

    FOSS
    http://www.foss.dk