An overarching view of oxygen management considerations during winemaking

Bodegas Torres has identified four key factors that are determinative of wine quality:

• The plant's environment
• Species and varieties
• Viticultural practices
• Enological practices.

In the area of enological practices, Torres focuses on oxygen management: "Keeping in mind that oxygen oxidizes wines, its proper management is crucial during vinification and aging in order to attain the desired result."

Oxygen primarily enters the wine through air of which it comprises approximately 20%. Oxygen affects the juice/wine by attracting electrons from other molecules, thus changing their chemical nature. This electron loss can affect aspects of the wine to include color, aroma, flavor development, and tannic stability. But the role of oxygen is not all deleterious; there are areas of what I call beneficial instances of oxygen application that can redound to the benefit of the winemaker.

The scope of oxygen impact includes:

• Acting as a substrate of enzymatic reactions
• Involvement in direct chemical reactions
• Causing phenol polymerization
• Affecting the growth and metabolite production of wine micro-organisms.

I will be developing an oxygen management needs proposal and an associated solution architecture over the course of a number of forthcoming posts. The framework within which this work will be conducted is shown in the chart below.

My first post in the series will be a deep dive into enzymic oxidation.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme