Abstract
The importance of oxygen in the winemaking process is widely known, as it affects the chemical aspects and therefore the organoleptic characteristics of the final product. Hence, it is evident the usefulness of a continuous and real-time measurements of the levels of oxygen in the various stages of the winemaking process, both for monitoring and for control. The WOW project (Deployment of WSAN technology for monitoring Oxygen in Wine products) has focused on the design and the development of an innovative device for monitoring the oxygen levels in wine. This system is based on the use of an optical fiber to measure the luminescent lifetime variation of a reference metal/porphyrin complex, which decays in presence of oxygen. The developed technology results in a high sensitivity and low cost sensor head that can be employed for measuring the dissolved oxygen levels at several points inside a wine fermentation or aging tank. This system can be complemented with dynamic modeling techniques to provide predictive behavior of the nutrient evolution in space and time given few sampled measuring points, for both process monitoring and control purposes. The experimental validation of the technology has been first performed in a controlled laboratory setup to attain calibration and study sensitivity with respect to different photo-luminescent compounds and alcoholic or non-alcoholic solutions, and then in an actual case study during a measurement campaign at a renown Italian winery.
Highlights
To improve the quality of wine, a crucial step in the production process is fermentation, which is the main topic of past and present research in the wine industry
In the wine industry, the term micro-oxygenation [3] refers to the artificial introduction of oxygen through specific devices able to control the dosage
A small loss in the precision of the measurements, due to a 30% reduction of the signal to noise ratio (SNR), was observed, leading to an limit of detection (LoD) increase
Summary
To improve the quality of wine, a crucial step in the production process is fermentation, which is the main topic of past and present research in the wine industry. The injected oxygen favors the production of larger molecules called polymeric pigments, yielding to color enhancement and an increase in color stability over time. These two benefits, improvement of taste and increase in color, are traditionally obtained by aging the wine in oak barrels for several months [4]. Aging in barrels gives advantageous oak aromas to wine, it has been recognized that the greatest benefits of the process are due to the permeability of the walls of the barrique, which allow the diffusion of small quantities of oxygen, favoring oxidation reactions that modify the structure and color of wine. The micro-oxygenation is frequently presented as an alternative to aging in barriques, with the advantages of a reduced cost, faster maturation and the possibility of scientific control of the process [5]
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