Why measure for Dissolved Oxygen in wine?
There are several stages where it is important to measure for Dissolved Oxygen: • Test for the level of oxygen during racking and tank movements. Whether its reduced or alternatively oxidized, the taste of wine can be dramatically altered by oxygen. • Test for oxygen pickup during pad, DE and cross flow filtrations. DO monitoring insures consistent process control and operation of equipment. • Monitor micro ox treatment during maturation process. Plotting the dissolved oxygen present during treatment aids in timely and effective micro ox implementations. • Test the tank for the amount of oxygen after processing and before bottling. The concentration of molecular oxygen should be measured in the wine before bottling and should be less than 0.5 mg/l. If the concentration of dissolved oxygen is greater than 0.5 mg/l, it can generally be lowered by sparaging with nitrogen gas (see Zoecklein, et. al., 1995). • Test oxygen in bottled wine. During bottling, oxygen must be monitored regularly
