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TE CHNOL OG Y A 2010 Food Chemistry article review- ing research into micro-oxygenation by faculty with the University of Murcia in Spain cited studies indicating that a moderate oxygen supply throughout the life of a wine could limit the production of unwanted sulfur compounds below odor thresholds. The same article also provided an overview of the relatively small sample of studies into how micro-ox can mimic barrel aging. Those have found that it can be effective, although it works best when used in conjunction with oak alterna- tives such as staves and chips. The use of micro-ox can also enhance the extraction of oak compounds from alternatives at a faster rate than just the minute amount of oxygen introduced with the wood. Dr. Jeff Murrel, the director of research and technical studies at StaVin who also runs the lab at Safe Harbor, told Wines & Vines that using micro-ox with oak prod- ucts is an effective way to replace barrels. Murrel added that winemakers can adjust the speed at which wine matures to bring it to market earlier. Kenwood Vineyards in Kenwood, Calif., produces more than 500,000 cases of wine ranging in price from $11 to $35 for R its reserve wines. Wines at the lower price tiers, bottled under a California designa- tion, receive about nine months of aging in stainless steel tanks with micro-ox. Winemaker Pat Henderson said micro-ox makes tremendous economic sense when making quality wine at affordable prices. "What we're really looking for is (for) it to mimic a barrel," he said. Kenwood has been using the Westec OxBox for a little more than a decade. Henderson said he monitors regularly by taste, waiting for the wine to show a little more fruit, fewer fermentation esters and for the tannins to soften. RWRefrigB&WAd.R2.10506.qxd 3/26/07 6:54 PM Page 1 He said he keeps the dosage at a pretty conservative rate of 1ml per day per 10,000 gallons. This hasn't produced any oxidation problems in the past, and Henderson said if the wine tastes like it's ready he can just turn the oxygen off. The micro-oxygenation is used in conjunction with oak staves, and Henderson said he can achieve about a year's worth of barrel aging in nine months. When the wine is ready, Henderson transfers it to neutral barrels to free up tanks for harvest. "If I could wave a magic wand, I'd buy some more OxBoxes and put it in about 20 more tanks." According to winemaker Joel Green, Safe Harbor Another major producer using micro-ox is Hogue Cellars in Prosser, Wash. Direc- tor of winemaking Coman Dinn said the winery has been using micro-ox since the Industrial/Commercial Services R Winery Systems • Cold Storage • Process Cooling edwood efrigeration 707-766-8950 redwoodrefrig.com 32 Wines & Vines JULY 2012 quarter bw ad Wines_Vines June 2012.indd 1 5/18/2012 10:27:30 AM Providing membrane filtration systems for juice and wine products - clarification, component separation, and concentration. GEA Filtration GEA Process Engineering Inc. 1600 O'Keefe Road, Hudson WI 54016 Phone: +1 715 386 9371, Fax: +1 715 386 9376 gea.pe.na@gea.com, www.geafiltration.com