30 Sep Managing dissolved gases for the development and presentation of wines
Dissolved gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) have a significant impact on the perceived quality of the wine. The former is the only gas that’s consumed by the wine’s components (enzymatically, chemically or microbiologically), while the latter is quite soluble and is capable of influencing the solubility of the other gases.
The wine-making industries worldwide are extremely interested in developing and implementing sustainable practices aimed at safeguarding consumer health and the environment.
The increasing use of trademarks and sustainability protocols bear witness to this trend of producing healthier wines, by limiting the use of pesticides in the vineyard and additives in the winery (above all sulphur dioxide).
This implies the need to re-examine all the winery practices in order to compensate for and replace the protection offered by SO2.
This revision covers a wide range of practices, including the use of inerting techniques, systematic deoxygenation in cases where a wine has been contaminated by uncontrolled oxygen inclusions, and the use of technologies and devices that are more suitable for preventing unwanted oxygen dissolution.
And while the struggle against dissolved oxygen should remain as a general principle within the winery itself, we must never forget that oxygen remains an indispensable tool for the wine producer:
- for the proper management of alcoholic fermentation and for preventing arrested and stunted fermentation.
- for the prevention of reduction phenomena
- for stabilizing the colour and the tannic profile of red wines following maceration
- for naturally structuring the polyphenols while maintaining the typical properties and the aromatic freshness of the wines, and for limiting the risk of oxidation through the use of micro-oxygenation in extremely low doses.
The oxygen requirements of wines are well known, and can be either targeted or else instantaneously adjusted using relatively high or extremely small doses spread out over a extended periods of time.
The inclusions managed by high precision micro-oxygenation systems provide for decreased oxygen dissolution with respect to the traditional practices.
Oxygen requirements during vinification and during the ageing process
For wineries that are seeking to limit their use of SO2 or, regardless, are making efforts to improve the quality of their wines, dissolved oxygen monitoring is an absolute must (in the case of quality inspections, for example) in order to determine the phases and the most critical times in which the wines are contaminated by relatively large quantities (in certain cases as much as 4-8 mg/l of dissolved oxygen within the span of just one or two hours).
Like the astringency of tannins, the carbonizing nature of carbon dioxide affects the organoleptic balance of the wines, as well as the perception of certain aromatic compounds.
The choice of equipment, the limitation of the length of the pipes and the number of transfers performed for the various treatments allow us to limit oxygen contamination without adding sulphites or antioxidants.
Parsec has introduced a complete range of precision instruments for managing dissolved gases
1- Oxy Level 2200
Automatically measures the dissolved oxygen in the line and in the bottles in order to:
- monitor the oxygen content of any given wine product during bottling operations
- measure the kinetics of oxygen consumption for a given sample
- verify the inerting conditions to improve the processing quality
- validate the procedures designed to limit accidental oxygen contamination
- allow for the prompt identification of any batches requiring deoxygenation
Parsec Exclusive: two optical technologies in the same device.
the Oxylevel is the most versatile optical oximeter of its generation:
– possibility of simultaneously managing two stainless steel immersion probes;
– possibility of adding a kit for detecting the oxygen concentration with adhesive sensors (installed inside the bottle or a speculum).
The terminal saves the values of the readings on a PC, thus ensuring complete traceability. The unit is even capable of collecting pH, Redox and conductivity data over the same connections.
A complete range of fittings, outputs, and sleeves are available for performing measurements in the tank or in the line throughout every stage of the wine-making process.
Oxygen contamination during the various wine-making and ageing processes.
2 – The EVO product range: precision in-line dosing for the oenology sector
Dissolved Oxygen and CO2 have a significant impact upon the development and the organoleptic characteristics of wines. It is therefore essential to have the possibility of adjusting them in a simple manner in order to ensure the wines’ compliance with the bottling specifications.
The Evo product range employs the technology developed for the Oxy-genius, integrating it with automatic flow variation detection and relative compensation via the in-line dosing of the gases.
The Evo product range is compatible with both closed-circuit and in-line cycles, and can be installed either at a filter’s output or else upstream of a product transfer.
This provides the user with a reliable tool that’s capable of ensuring perfect reproducibility, thus allowing for the simple management of dissolved gases. The operations can be fully automated with the use of temperatu
re or dissolved oxygen or CO2 sensors (optional).
Application examples for the EVO1000
- Deoxygenation of a wine product with automatic temperature compensation
- Carbonization of a still wine product with automatic temperature compensation
- Cold gasification of a sparkling wine product
- Isobaric transfer or secondary fermentation of a sparkling wine product in an autoclave
- Decarbonization of a wine product with automatic temperature compensation.
Evo2000 – for simultaneous in-line dosing via three inputs
- up to three metering pumps in series
- tank housings with load cells for verifying consumption and dosage
- flow monitoring and automatic dosage compensation
- centralized Parsec supervision, ON/OFF switch , etc.
3. The Oxygenius Product Range: only inject the oxygen that’s essential to the development of your wines!
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Vue du logiciel d’aide au calcul de la dose Mox Easy
To this day, the Oxy-Genius dosing unit remains the wine-making industry’s most reliable precision dosing system.
Perfectly suited to various oenological applications, the unit offers three different dosing modes and is capable of performing precise dosages in mg/L, thus providing for a better understanding of the Oxygen/Wine interactions.
In 2003, Parsec became the first company to introduce an oxygen dose determination software that combines the 
following three parameters within a single model:
- the analytical profile of the wines
- the flavour profile of the wines
- the desired oenological (or technological) effect of the wine.
Our clients are therefore able to quickly determine the proper dosage and adapt it in order to adjust the oxygenation intensity to the desired oenological effect, based on the style and the type of wine to be obtained
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