Abstract
The use of alternative oak products (AOP) for wine aging is a common practice in which micro-oxygenation (MOX) is a key factor to obtain a final wine that is more stable over time and with similar characteristics as barrel-aged wines. Therefore, the oxygen dosage added must be that which the wine is able to consume to develop correctly. Oxygen consumption by red wine determines its properties, so it is essential that micro-oxygenation be managed properly. This paper shows the results from the study of the influence on red wine of two different MOX strategies: floating oxygen dosage (with dissolved oxygen setpoint of 50 µg/L) and fixed oxygen dosage (3 mL/L·month). The results indicated that the wines consumed all the oxygen provided: those from fixed MOX received between 3 and 3.5 times more oxygen than the floating MOX strategy, the oxygen contribution from the air entrapped in the wood being more significant in the latter. Wines aged with wood and MOX showed the same color and phenolic evolution as those aged in barrels, demonstrating the importance of MOX management. Despite the differences in the oxygen consumed, it was not possible to differentiate wines from the different MOX strategies at the end of the aging period in contact with wood.
Highlights
Oxygen has a fundamental role in wine technology [1]
The difference between a floating and fixed wine MOX can be observed immediately: in the first (Figure 2A1,A2), the dosage varies according to the measure of dissolved oxygen, the wine’s initial level being
Strategies and Q. pyrenaica chips showed that they consumed all the oxygen available, and that this consumption depended on the MOX strategy selected
Summary
Oxygen has a fundamental role in wine technology [1]. It plays an important role in the different processes that take place during wine-making and aging [2,3,4,5,6]. Since micro-oxygenation is the controlled introduction of oxygen into wine, the dosage and duration of oxygen addition are the critical points in MOX treatment, and positive effects can be obtained when the treatment is applied correctly. This can be acquired by specifying the oxygen management for each kind of wine, alternative oak product (chips, cubes and staves, among others) and for the botanical origin of each wood [13].
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