The Hanna Instruments HI83749 Portable Turbidity and Bentonite Check Meter is specifically engineered to provide winemakers with precise turbidity measurements crucial for optimal wine clarity. Featuring an advanced optical system, this instrument ensures exceptional accuracy by effectively minimizing interference from stray light and wine color. Its robust design maintains long-term stability and automatically compensates for light source variations, while professional calibration validates every reading, ensuring compliance with industry standards. All measurements are conducted using durable 25 mm round cuvettes crafted from specialized optical glass, guaranteeing high repeatability for all turbidity tests.
Key Features for Winemakers:
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AMCO AEPA-1 Primary Turbidity Standards: Utilize USEPA-recognized, non-toxic, and highly stable standards for reliable calibration and verification of your wine turbidity meter.
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Versatile Calibration: Perform flexible two, three, or four-point turbidity calibrations using the included standards, with options for user-prepared custom points.
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Fast Tracker™ T.I.S.: Streamline winery quality control with the Tag Identification System, allowing easy logging and management of measurements by tank or location.
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GLP Data Functionality: Ensure comprehensive traceability with detailed GLP records, including calibration points, dates, and times.
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Extensive Data Logging: Store up to 200 essential turbidity measurements in the internal memory for convenient review and analysis.
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Seamless Data Transfer: Easily download logged data to a Windows PC via RS232 or USB ports with the HI92000 software for further processing.
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Intuitive Backlit Display: Navigate operations and calibrations effortlessly with a clear, user-friendly LCD that provides step-by-step guidance.
Achieving crystal-clear wine is paramount for quality and consumer appeal. During fermentation, suspended solids create unrefined wine that often appears turbid or hazy. This "protein haze" primarily results from positively charged proteins like Thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) and chitinases, which can aggregate and form visible flocculent clouds.
Before bottling, protein stabilization is essential for white wines and certain light reds/rosés. Bentonite, a volcanic clay fining agent, effectively clarifies wine. However, precise application is critical to avoid negative impacts such as excessive lees formation, reduction of tannins, or loss of color. It's vital for winemakers to conduct laboratory trials using the same bentonite batch and preparation method as they intend to use in the cellar, given variations in bentonite types and protein removal capacities.
While red wines generally face fewer protein stability issues due to higher phenol concentrations that bind and precipitate unstable proteins, bentonite is still often added to reduce colloidal particles and enhance filterability. The Hanna HI83749 empowers winemakers to determine initial wine turbidity. By adding the HI83749-20 Bentocheck Solution and taking a second turbidity measurement, you can quickly assess protein stability. If the second reading is less than the initial plus 2 NTU, your wine is stable. Otherwise, precise fining trials can be performed to determine the exact bentonite dosage needed, leading to cost savings and preventing undesirable stripping of wine flavor, body, and color.
