Oxygen in red winemaking

摘要

There are many options for the fermentation of red wine, ranging from the traditional open fermenter to various stainless steel enclosed fermenters. A&G Engineering, with its home base in Griffith, describes most options available with stainless steel (bit.ly/2lpsmDa). My introduction to winemaking was at Fairfield Winery in Rutherglen where there was in excess of 20 wax-lined concrete open fermenters, and I still retain an attachment to this approach to red wine fermentation. One perceived limitation of open fermenters is the loss of aroma compounds, especially those associated with red fruits: these characters have particular market significance for Australian wine. So dosed systems such as rotary fermenters became all the rage.