Scientists help make wine better

(BizJournals) - Invisible Sentinel is getting into the wine business.

The Philadelphian life sciences company, which specializes in rapid molecular diagnostic test kits for the food industry, has formed a partnership with Jackson Family Wines, a family-­owned winery in California’s Sonoma County.

The two organizations plan to work together using Invisible Sentinel’s existing technology to develop Veriflow Brett — a diagnostic assay to detect Brettanomyces, a wine-­spoiling yeast. Their plan is to market the product across the wine industry.

Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

The company’s Veriflow technology is already used to detect food pathogens such as listeria and salmonella in meat products

Brettanomyces produces compounds that, in excess, can foul the taste of wine and give it a “barn-yardy” odor. Current methods of on-site testing for Brettanomyces, according to the companies, are time-consuming — which means the yeast can continue to accumulate before corrective measures are initiated and more product is subject to spoilage.

Hugh Reimers, chief operating officer of Jackson Family Wines, said he expects the new application of Invisible Sentinel’s detection technology will enhance the winery’s “already rigorous quality control” processes.