Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70670
TE CHNOL OG Y Sensory perception of wine usually lags about two days behind the accumulation of oxygen in the wine. —Dr. Anita Oberholster, University of California, Davis Monitoring micro-oxygenation re- quires tasting the wine on a regular, if not daily, basis. At the basic level, one should monitor dissolved oxygen and free and total sulfur. A rapid decrease in free sulfur could indicate the wine is re- ceiving too much oxygen. Extra oxygen could lead to bacterial growth and a rise in volatile acidity. The greatest risk is oxidizing a wine. UC Davis' Oberholster said finding the exact point beyond which oxygenation goes too far can be difficult because sensory perception of wine usually lags about two days behind the accumulation of oxygen in the wine. At Safe Harbor, Green said every wine is monitored on a regular basis. "You don't just turn on the oxygen and leave this in a corner somewhere," he said. Key to a successful use of oxygen is knowing exactly where you want to go with your wine, he said. To that end, Safe Harbor helps their clients create a strategy for oxygen or provide one for them. Some clients use the Westec OxBox system at Safe Harbor to find what's right for their wine before investing in their own micro- ox system. Murrell said the tool isn't the magic wand for mediocre wine. But what it can do is cut your costs on labor and capital by reducing barrels or eliminating barrels for some wines, possibly allowing your products to enter the market faster. He said the detractors of the tool are often those making $100 wine that have a motivation to say something to differentiate their product, whether it's the hand-harvesting, gentle processing or months of aging in premium barrels. "People that own Ferraris will say those Hondas are cheap," he said. "But they are often more reliable." EVQ_microox_W&V bw TR.indd 1 15/05/12 15:36 Wines & Vines JULY 2012 35