Oxygen and Fermentation

 2016 ASVO Best Oenology paper of the year to our friends at AWRI

Best Oenology Paper of the year from the Australian Journal of Grape & Wine Research for 'Effect of oxygen exposure during fermentation on volatile sulfur compounds in Shiraz wine and a comparison of strategies for remediation of reductive characters'). The project was led by Dr Martin Day, who worked with Drs Simon Schmidt, Paul Smith and Eric Wilkes to develop the experimental design. Dr Bekker managed the sulfur chemistry and analysis, with Drs Helen Holt and Wes Pearson responsible for the sensory side of things.

‘We thought adding oxygen late in the process might cause negative stylistic attributes, but that doesn’t seem to be the case’, Dr Schmidt said. ‘But timing is critical when using oxygen to stimulate fermentation. You have to be within a certain window for maximum benefit.’