A method for direct electrothermal at. absorption spectrometric detn. of lead in wine is described. A mixed chem. modifier contg. 20 mg of tungsten as ammonium paratungstate and 4 mg palladium as palladium chloride is applied to thermally stabilize Pb in wine up to pyrolysis temps. of 800-850 DegC. Matrix-matched stds. are used for calibration. The characteristic mass for integrated absorbance measurements (mo) is 20 pg, and the limit of detection is 3 mg/L for a wine sample. The accuracy and precision of the method were assessed by analyzing the ref. CQiR and CQiB materials (Food Science Lab., Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, UK).