Precision.
Clarity.
Confidence.
Dropped off by 12 noon · pH, TA, SO₂, alcohol, sugars, acids, YAN
Viable cells/mL, seven spoilage organisms
The request portal shows how much to send for the analyses you pick
Every test priced on the test menu
Precision
The right analysis, at the right time, to the highest accuracy we can deliver.
It starts before a sample reaches the bench: choosing the analysis that answers your question, matching turnaround to the decision you're making, and running validated methods checked against reference standards.
What we test →Clarity
Results you can read, understand and act on.
A number on its own is not an answer. Results come in the units you work in, with the context to see what matters: reference ranges, interpretation guides, or a conversation with us.
Read the guides →Confidence
Trust in the result. Confidence in the decision.
Confidence in our methods, our quality systems and our people, and the confidence you carry forward to act on a result knowing you're doing it for the right reasons.
How we work →Precision in the measurement. Clarity in the result. Confidence in the decision.
Vineyard, winery, and everything else that ferments.
Viticulture
Maturity sampling, juice panels, YAN and potassium at crush, and the vineyard side of the business — block walks, season planning and troubleshooting.
Juice tests →Winemaking
Same-day wine chemistry on calibrated instruments, plus species-specific qPCR microbiology so you know what's alive in the wine, not just what's in it.
Wine tests →Brewing, cider & other primary industries
The same instruments work for beer, cider, spirits and other fermented or fresh products. If you need a number we don't list, ask — we can usually run it or refer it.
Ask us →What do you need today?
Request analysis
Register once, log samples in the app, drop them at the lab or in the after-hours box.
Request → Not sure what to test?Which test do I need?
Tell us what's in front of you — a slow ferment, a smell, bottling next month — and we'll point you to the right analysis.
Pick a test → Got your results?Read your report
What each number means, where the trouble starts, and what to do next.
Open the guides → Keeping upResearch digest
New viticulture and oenology papers, read and summarised for people who don't have time to read papers.
Read the digest →Cellar maths, done properly.
Calculators and checkers built on the same rules we use in the lab. Free, no login.
SO₂ calculator
Molecular SO₂ from your free SO₂ and pH, the free level you need, and how much PMS to add.
Microbial risk check
Brett, bacteria and refermentation risk from pH, SO₂, sugar and storage — before it turns up in the glass.
Sampling planner
Pick date and style in; a dated plan of what to test from maturity to bottling out.
Instrument-grade chemistry and molecular microbiology, run here in Cromwell.
Auto-titration, Anton Paar density and NIR alcohol, SPICA enzymatics and species-specific qPCR. Most of Central Otago's cellars are within half an hour of the bench.
Understand your results.
Free, total and molecular SO₂
Why free SO₂ on its own doesn't tell you if a wine is protected.
Reading qPCR results
Cells/mL, the Low–Medium–High bands, and what to do at each.
Volatile acidity
When VA is lift, when it's a fault, and how to stop it rising.
YAN and nutrition
How much nitrogen your yeast needs, and how to work out a DAP addition.
New research, read so you don't have to.
We keep up with the viticulture and oenology journals and pull out the papers that matter to producers here. A few lines on each, what it might mean in your vineyard or cellar, and a link to the source.
One email a week. Unsubscribe any time.
Notes from the bench and the vineyard.
Brettanomyces in Central Otago: problem, passenger, or parcel?
Is there more Brett in the region, or are we just better at finding it? Why population, activity and risk matter more than presence.
More from the lab
Vintage notes, method explainers and what we're seeing across the region's samples, posted as it happens.
Send us a sample, or a question.
New clients register once; existing clients go straight to the app. Questions about a result are part of the service.