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CO VER S T OR Y companies such as Nestle, Heineken, and Danisco use this technology in the food and beverage industry. The technology is called oxo luminescence and is based on the effect of dynamic luminescence quenching by molecular oxygen. In short, a pulsing light source is generated, and the absorption of the light is measured and used as a reference. The same light is passed via a fiber optic wand through a luminescent sensor "dot" placed on the glass surface. The light transmitted through the dot collides with the oxygen molecule where energy transfer takes place and results in the reduction of the luminescent signal. The drop of the luminescent signal is compared to the reference measurement, and the difference indicates the amount of oxygen present in either the liquid or air space measured. Several companies are currently producing analyzers using luminescent technology for various applications: Thermo Scientific–Orion, YSI, Hach- Lange, Precision Sensing GmbH and Nomacorc, to name a few. Precision Sensing, maker of PreSens, has collaborated with Nomacorc, allowing the company to use the PreSens technology References G ordon, Jim. "What Oxygen Research Means to Winemakers," Wines & Vines News Headline, Sept. 19, 2011. G oode, Jamie. "Post-Bottling Winemaking" Wines & Vines august 2010 issue. nomacorc.com › Oxygen Management awri.com.au thermoscientific.com fa-gm.de ysi.com/ProODO to develop and market the NomaSense analyzer, according to Thompson. Mai Nygaard, manager of NomaSense, provided me with these specifications: "Accuracy for the NomaSense using our standard sensor (PSt3) is as follows: At high concentrations (atmospheric oxygen) in O2 %: +/- 0.2%, or in ppm (mg/L): +/- 0.09 +/-0.03%, and in ppm (mg/L): +/- 0.01. "The repeatability has been documented to be 0.10% or 0.04 ppm, and the sensors show no cross sensitivity to other gases," Nygaard continued. "The method has been validated according to OIV standards by Nomacorc's research." Nygaard also reported, "Regional industry standards are being developed as well as internal standards by wine At low oxygen concentrations in O2 %: producers and retailers. In support of this important work and, based on global TPO benchmarking studies, Nomacorc has introduced a guideline for TPO values, categorizing into low, medium and high TPO." These TPO categories are: • Low/well-controlled bottling: 1-2 ppm • Medium/average bottling: 2-4 ppm • High/uncontrolled bottling: 4-8 ppm Summary Oxygen management from harvest to that all-important first taste by the consumer is paramount to every winery. Development of these new technologies opens up a plethora of applications within a winery, bottling line and storage facilities. With continued innovations and research, our understanding of oxygen in wine and our ability to have the tools to monitor and manage oxygen will keep us moving along the road to perfection. Jean L. Jacobson is a consulting winemaker in Sonoma County, Calif., a writer and author of "Introduction to Wine Laboratory Practices and Procedures," a book published by Springer Publishing. Jacobson has 15 years of experience in winemaking. 40 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2012