Casa Berlucchi is using the Mettler Toledo DR40 in wine production to determine the harvest date and destination of the various types of grape.
Casa Berlucchi maps land parcels according to soil type and photographs them with infrared rays.
The images are then processed according to colour.
Red areas are characterised by slower growth in maturity, higher acidity and lower sugar levels, while green areas identify the fruit with higher sugar and lower production loads.
Based on these maps, the sampling technician moves between the rows with a handheld GPS and visualises their position in real-time, collecting reliable samples for different ripeness levels.
Grapes are then pressed and fermented separately, creating wines with surprisingly different characteristics even when generated from the same vineyard.
This practice is supported by two presses capable of working continually.
Benchmarks (such as brix, total acidity and pH) are analysed at each pressing stage.
The juice enters various tanks and, after the refrigerated limpid phase, moves to the wine-making area.
The analytical laboratory is equipped with a Mettler Toledo DR40 to measure combined density and refractive index.
Its ease of use and reliability is due to the built-in Peltier cell thermostat, which measures the minimum quantity of sample required for analysis.
In addition to distillating alcohol content and brix, the system also determines several other parameters specific to the wine sector, such as Babo degrees, potential alcohol from refractive index and total dry extract from relative density.
The DR40 is a flexible and valuable instrument for quick winemaking results.
Apart from pH and total-acidity measurement, Berlucchi also uses the T70 Excellence Titrator to determine free combined and total sulphur dioxide.
