Oxygen Scavengers

I did a baaaaaaaaaaaaad thing. I opened a bottle of ESJ '01 Syrah "Wylie-Fenaughty" about 10 days ago, drank half, stuck it in the fridge, and just took it back out today. Oh, the misery!! It was pretty far gone in the oxidation department. So I got to thinking ... always a dangerous and questionable enterprise ....

I wonder if it were possible to tie a string to an oxygen scavenger, suspend it in the ullage, and maybe inhibit oxidation in this way. Perhaps it's been done before. If not, I got dibs on the patent rights.

I wonder if it were possible to tie a string to an oxygen scavenger, suspend it in the ullage, and maybe inhibit oxidation in this way. Perhaps it's been done before. If not, I got dibs on the patent rights.

What are you thinking of when you say "oxygen scavenger"? Whatever it is would have to react with oxygen faster than the wine does. For that matter, if you're going to do that, why not just dose the wine with a small amount of metabisulfite instead?

Mark Lipton

What are you thinking of when you say "oxygen scavenger"? Whatever it is would have to react with oxygen faster than the wine does. For that matter, if you're going to do that, why not just dose the wine with a small amount of metabisulfite instead?Mark Lipton

You know. Your run of the mill oxygen absorber (kinda like this one: Example) like the kind you find in food, pharmaceutical and medical device packaging applications. I don't think I'd want to add any chemicals directly to the wine itself. The thought is the dangle the absorber in the empty space about the the liquid.

[James Roscoe]

Why not make a stopper with that stuff. Claim it will save the wine by obsorbing the oxygen. It has to work as well as anything else. While you're at it you can claim it will make that six dollar box cab taste like a Lafitte!

You know. Your run of the mill oxygen absorber (kinda like this one: Example) like the kind you find in food, pharmaceutical and medical device packaging applications. I don't think I'd want to add any chemicals directly to the wine itself. The thought is the dangle the absorber in the empty space about the the liquid.

The example you show is probably not what you'd want: they spefically designed it to react slowly with oxygen for long-term protection. What that means is that, in a footrace between the oxidizable contents of the wine and the StabilOx, the wine would probably react first with the lion's share of the oxygen present. It's certainly not impossible, but you'd have to search around for the right reactivity of your antioxidant. Regarding the addition of chemicals: metabisulfite is added to the wine by the winemaker, so why not by you too? You'd have to be careful not to overdo it, but that's about the only downside.

Mark Lipton

You know. Your run of the mill oxygen absorber (kinda like this one: Example) like the kind you find in food, pharmaceutical and medical device packaging applications. I don't think I'd want to add any chemicals directly to the wine itself. The thought is the dangle the absorber in the empty space about the the liquid.

The example you show is probably not what you'd want: they spefically designed it to react slowly with oxygen for long-term protection. What that means is that, in a footrace between the oxidizable contents of the wine and the StabilOx, the wine would probably react first with the lion's share of the oxygen present. It's certainly not impossible, but you'd have to search around for the right reactivity of your antioxidant. Regarding the addition of chemicals: metabisulfite is added to the wine by the winemaker, so why not by you too? You'd have to be careful not to overdo it, but that's about the only downside.Mark Lipton

Well, this was just a thought borne on the wings of the frustration of having loused up a really good bottle of wine. And since I am far from being a physical scientist of any kind, I would have to enlist a real scientist to sort out the details. But if it were feasible, I bet it'd be done already.

By the way, you hit one of nails on the head as to why I would not want to add chemicals to the wine. Oversulfiting wine brings with it its own array of problems.

An oxidized wine can be treated with potassium caseinate (skim milk powder).

Salute

Nitrogen.

And if that isn't good enough, the next time you do something like that, Gary, open the bottle, pour half the volume into a half bottle 375ml, seal it and put that into the fridge right away. It will buy you extra time.

I expect you opened the bottle, left it at room temperature while you consumed the wine, and then put the rest in the fridge, which of course gave you a nice long period of potential oxidation before refrigeration while it also gave you a beautiful amount of head space into which more oxygen floated.

An oxidized wine can be treated with potassium caseinate (skim milk powder).

Salute

Really? How? How much? Does it alter taste or just bring back the wine to what it was before it oxidized? This is great.....

Here’s a product from Scott Labs:

CASEI PLUS Prevention and Removal of Oxidized Wine Components
Casei Plus is a concentrated, powdered form of potassium caseinate produced from whole milk. The soluble “Plus” formulation of casein has 20-25% more protein than the regular casein formulation, greatly increasing its fining ability. Casei Plus helps eliminate oxidized phenolic compounds and iron casse. Even with high doses, it does not lend to over-fining. It generates a lower volume of lees than regular casein.
Recommended Dosage:
For Clarification 50-200ppm (5-20mL/hL) 0.42-1.6 lb/1000 gal
For Oxidized Wines 200-400ppm (20-40mL/hL) 1.6-3.2 lb/1000 gal

Works like any other fining agent, the potassium caseinate just helps remove oxidized wine components. Milk has been used as a fining agent for a long time, especially in the production of sherry.

Salute