Bika Wine: Open-Source LIMS returns to wineries

Cape Town. 1 October 2025

Bika LIMS’ very first release, in 2004, was for a cooperative wine laboratory and bottling plant in South Africa’s Western Cape. It remains a powerful and cost-effective choice for wine labs.

The software is free, relatively easy to set up, and requires minimal training - much can be mastered using online content during the off-season. The benefits are clear: bidirectional instrument interfaces and automated results reporting drastically reduce turnaround times and workloads, while ensuring compliance with ISO 17025 standards.

Bika Wine adds cultivar and vintage information to food and beverage configurations, used for microbiological testing, nutrient values, pesticides, and additives etc.

It also offers visual monitoring of yeast populations, alcohol and sugar levels per tank, giving clear oversight from fermentation to bottling. Rigorous quality control in line with regulatory and export specifications can be configured.

With its proven history and robust functionality, Bika Wine provides an accessible and professional solution for wineries seeking efficient laboratory management.

Installation

Bika Wine is packaged as an option in the latest Ingwe Bika LIMS 4 release and can be installed from a Docker image available on GitHub.

Contact us now for a demonstration and estimate