Oxygen Friend or Foe. (T1D) SWE 2012 San Mateo CA. Andrew Lazorchak & Gary Gottfried. The postive and negative attributes of exposing wine to oxygen, and how to best treat wine for service and presentation.

1. oxygen. friend or foe?
presented by:
Gary Gottfried & Andrew Lazorchak
july 26 2012
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

2. oxygen. friend or foe.
Program:
.
• Andrew Lazorchak Presents: Oxygen = Friend
Taste flights: 1,2,3. (try to save some #1)
• Gary Gottfried Presents: Oxygen = Foe
Taste flights: 1,4,5
• Question & Answer.
• Wines:
4 flights of Spring Mtn – Cab Sauv – Napa Valley – 2006
(special thanks to Spring Mtn Vyds)
1: poured at 8:00AM 2: poured w/Soirée
• 3: open 5 days VF 4: open 5 days
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

3. oxygen = friend
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

4. decanter = friend
subconsciously, some people are intimidated by decanters.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

5. keep wine fun.
playing/exploring with wine is your job.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

6. why decant?
fun fact:
•originally decanters were made as a tool to allow one rack sediment from wine.
Why:
•because like all things in this atmosphere, oxygen catalyzes “aging”.
•wine is hermetically sealed, and has not seen oxygen in year(s).
•in the case of wine, oxygen allows the chemistry of the wine to expand and then
degrade.
•decanting is not only for fancy wine, everyday wines will show dramatic improvement
when aerated.
•decanters have become decorative, fancy, and unfortunately seldom.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

7. 69% of people rarely use a decanter.
68% drink wine several times a week.
35% don’t even own a decanter.
source: WellesleyWinePress.com
http://bit.ly/LPmL5
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

8. 68% drink wine several times a week.
69% of people rarely use a decanter.
35% don’t even own a decanter.
as educators, it is our job to correct this.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

9. wine know-it-alls.
common deferments from people that don’t use a decanter or aerator as often as they should:
•I decant wines that need it. (define this)
•I always use a decanter. (BS)
•I like to see the wine develop in the glass. (ok, but joe consumer does not.)
•I am not drinking the whole bottle. (glass by glass aerators exist)
•Our customer won’t know the difference. (You sell the sizzle not the steak)
•Takes up to much table space. (aerators don’t)
•Too hard to clean. (tell that to the winemaker)
Too much goes into making wine to not treat it properly. Be it a $12 bottle or $120 bottle, most wines will
benefit when they have a chance to breathe.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

10. oxygen is a catalyst for wine’s development.
when talking to the average consumer, I like to use the analogy of rust to
describe how oxygen accelerates a wine’s aging process. the average
consumer does not understand this or the importance that oxygen can
have in improving their wine experiences.
don’t let tradition or snobbery get in the way of wine.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

11. options.
passive decanting: active decanting:
surface area. active infusion.
Wait Pour voraciously
Carafe Shake bottle
Decanter Aerator
convenience is king.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

12. i decant wait any longer.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

13. tools/methods to expedite oxygenation:
•glassware •aerator
•height of pour •hyper-decant (blender)
•turbulence in the glass •bubbler
•shaking the bottle.
Capsules are breathable. Wax & screwcaps don’t breathe.
97% of the wine bought is consumed within 24 hours of purchase.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

14. Wine opens up.
What does this really mean & why does this happen?
organic compounds are the essence of wine aromatics.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

15. Volatile Compounds of Red and White Wines…
“Wine aroma is attributable to a large range of molecules coming from different
chemical families (e.g., esters, aldehydes, ketones, terpenes, norisoprenoides,
acids, alcohols, and sulfur compounds). Some originate from the grape, and
others are formed during fermentation or during aging.
The aroma of wine is determined traditionally by liquid–liquid and solid–liquid
extraction and dynamic headspace…”
Jordi Torrens1, Montserrat Riu-Aumatell2, Elvira López-Tamames2, and Susana Buxaderas2,*
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

16. some identified aroma compounds.
Methoxypyrazine - grassy, herbaceous aroma compound associated with Cabernet Sauvignon
and Sauvignon blanc.
Monoterpenes -responsible for the floral aromatics of varieties like Gewürztraminer, Muscat and
Riesling. Includes geraniol, linalool and nerol.
Norisoprenoids-Carotenoid derived aromatic compounds[6] that includes megastigmatrienone
which produces some of the spice notes associated with Chardonnay and zingerone responsible
for the different spice notes associated with Syrah. Other norisoprenoids include raspberry
ketone which produces some of the raspberry aromas associated with red wine, damascenone
which produces some of the rose oil aromas associated with Pinot noir and vanillin.
Thiols-sulfur contain compounds that can produce an aroma of garlic and onion that is
considered a wine fault (mercaptans). They have also been found to contribute to some of the
varietal aromas associated with Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Muscat, Petit
Manseng, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling, Scheurebe, Semillon and Sylvaner.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

17. aroma compounds in testing.
Volatiles:
esters, aldehydes, ketones,
terpenes, norisoprenoides, acids,
alcohols, and sulfur compounds.
chart (right) shows compounds
releasing by temperature. this is
similar, in effect, to aging or opening up.
Ester dynamic are reduced in a quick/
hotter fermentation.
the pH of wine influences the rate
of oxidation in wine.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

18. dissolved oxygen testing.
Jason Moulton of Cliff Lede Vineyards doing a controlled
dissolved oxygen with various wine aerators.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

19. dissolved oxygen testing.
D.O. In ppm = mg/L
•In new bottle 0.11ppm (control)
•Poured into a glass: 1.07ppm
•Rabbit: 1.57ppm
•Vinturi: 1.50ppm
•Soirée: 1.95ppm
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

20. works cited.
Acid and the effect on wine:
http://www.sasev.org/journal-sajev/sajev-articles/volume-27-2/27_2%202.pdf/view
Volatiles in wine – thesis concluding aromatic definition via volatile analysis:
http://photonics.byu.edu/PDMS.parts/paper7.pdf
Wikipedia:
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

21. swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

22. Oxygen: Friend or
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

23. Oxygen: Friend or Foe?
• A freshly-cut apple turns brown, a bicycle fender becomes rusty and
a copper penny suddenly turns green. What do all of these events have in common?
They are all examples of a process called oxidation.
• Oxidation is defined as the interaction between oxygen molecules and all the different
substances they may contact, from metal to living tissue. Technically, however, with
the discovery of electrons, oxidation came to be more precisely defined as the loss of
at least one electron when two or more substances interact. Those substances may
or may not include oxygen. (Incidentally, the opposite of oxidation is reduction — the
addition of at least one electron when substances come into contact with each other.)
Sometimes oxidation is not such a bad thing, as in the formation of super-durable
anodized aluminum. Other times, oxidation can be destructive, such as
the rusting of an automobile or the spoiling of fresh fruit.
• We often used the words oxidation and rust interchangeably, but not all materials
which interact with oxygen molecules actually disintegrate into rust. In the case of
iron, the oxygen creates a slow burning process, which results in the brittle brown
substance we call rust. When oxidation occurs in copper, on the other hand, the
result is a greenish coating called copper oxide. The metal itself is not weakened by
oxidation, but the surface develops a patina after years of exposure to air and water.
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

24. Oxygen Friend or Foe?
Happens within
5 minutes
What about 24-48
hours?
?...
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

25. Why is Wine Preservation Is
Important?
Institutional–
Consumer – retail or
Restaurant or
off premise
On premise
• Quality • Quality Assurance
• Save money • Save money
• Freedom to Open • Increase revenue
• Enjoy/Entertain/ • Expand variety
Express • Market and not
• Alternative Wines manage
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

26. Wine Preservation Options
• Drink the whole bottle
• Refrigeration
• Vacuum
• Solid Separation
• Gas
• Do Nothing
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

27. Taste Trial
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

28. Test Metrics
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

29. Why what you may have learned
may be of benefit .. to everyone
Source: Wine Institute
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

30. Why what you may have learned
may be of benefit .. to everyone
Source: Wine Institute
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

31. Why what you may have learned
may be of benefit .. to everyone
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

32. Why what you may have learned
may be of benefit .. to you
• Knowledge
• Educators
– Consumer
– Winery
– Distributor
– On Premise
– Off Premise
• Financial Efficiency
• Experience and Enjoy the Freedom, Everyday
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.

33. QUESTIONS?
(or comments)
thank you
swe 2012 T1D – oxygen friend or foe.