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WINEMAKING get elevated sulfites by passing through many hands on the way to market, or helping organic winemakers get their SO2 below the legal threshold of 10 ppm. Kreisher's other suggestion comes straight from basic wine chem- high-pH wines, up around 4.0 or even higher, removing potassium (they've got a membrane for that) and bringing down the pH means less need for sulfur. Along these lines, Fugelsang says it all comes back to sanitation: The lower the populations of bad actors, the less damage they do and the easier they are to control. And finally in the less-is-better category, ascorbic acid periodically istry: The lower a wine's pH, the less SO2 is needed for stability. In comes and goes as a promising player. The theory goes that since ascorbic acid loves to devour molecular oxygen, it can supplement sulfur dioxide's anti-oxidant role, allowing a reduced amount of SO2 to proceed with the anti-microbial mission. Unfortunately, in some circumstances ascorbic acid ends up promoting oxidation, not rein- ing it in, making it more than a crapshoot as a sulfur replacement. Otherwise known as Vitamin C, ascorbic acid is no more a miracle cure in winemaking than in the battle against the common cold. Alternative methods Alongside these various strategies for using less sulfur dioxide in wine, efforts have been under way for several decades to find an alternative, some other compound or technology that would do sulfur dioxide's job but without the negatives. Fugelsang recalls when, about 25 years ago, he and fellow Fresno State professor Carlos Muller tried using carbon monoxide as an anti-microbial agent. It worked in bench trials, but as soon as they scaled it up, the method broke down. Fugelsang also had more than one run at using salicylic acid, a close relative of the active ingredi- levels down "It will be very hard to replace, not least because it's so cheap." —Plant biology researcher Michael Considine, University of Western Australia ent in aspirin, though again, it never performed as well on wine as it does in its major application: anti-acne treatments. In 2008 there was a flurry of publicity about the publication in a technical journal of findings by a group of Greek enological re- searchers suggesting that an extract from black radishes, Rapha- nus niger, might provide the long-sought natural alternative. My Internet searches revealed hundreds of references to this news—all of them dating from 2008, and none since. One strategy to progress a little further is ozone for disinfecting grapes and must as well as barrels and equipment. The Italian Purovi- no company has patented a protocol for use of gaseous and aqueous ozone during a number of stages in winemaking, and its website ad- vertises successful trials with wines from the Marchese de Frescobaldi. Purovino USA representative Joe Hajost is currently scouting for U.S. wineries to partner with the company for commercial-scale trials. Several other projects aim to replace the sulfur dioxide with one or another elemental physical forces capable of doing the anti-microbial "Wow, you're exactly the same as I remember you!" "Actually, I've aged quite a bit… on the inside." They say a fine wine only gets better with age – and at Barrels Unlimited we make sure of it. Whether it's making a good wine great or a great wine legendary, our air-dried American oak casks and barrels infuse complexity and character into every batch. Available in 5,10, 15, 20, 30, 59, 70, and 80 gallon sizes. Corporate Office | Jackson, Wyoming 1.800.875.1558 www.barrelsunlimited.com | West Coast Cooperage Fresno, California 54 WINES & VINES AUGUST 2012