Hi,
In beer making it is good to oxygenate the wort prior to pitching the yeast. Some homebrewers even use medical O2 to accomplish this. I would think the same principal would apply to winemaking as the yeast take up the O2 in the adaptation stage and create hungrier/healthier yeast. Anyone care to comment?
In beer you boil just about all of the O2 out of the wort. That's why a lot of brewers will oxygenate the wort with pure O2. In wine, the must is not boiled therefore you haven't done anything to strip the O2 out. You could do it in wine, but IMHO it's a waste of O2, and time. Between what O2 is naturally in the must and what O2 is in the headspace, it will be fine. My experience is beer needs it, wine doesn't.
John
I would agree, there is no reason to go overboard oxygenating wine, especially grape wines. They rarely if ever have issues propagating yeast and if they do it's more likely a nutrient deficiency.
Some micro-oygenate finished wine to simulate barrel aging.
Joe
Thanks, appreciate the feedback.
In wines, oxidation is a major flaw. Of course yeast need oxygen early on for reproduction but you do not want to go overboard. Wine is made from fruit and fruit can oxidize even before the wine is made and this will have much the same effect on the end product. You do not want to use fruit that has been cut up and left out long enough that the meat starts to brown. This is oxidation and it is not good for the taste of the fruit or the wine. If you bubble O2 into most wine musts you will run a risk of early oxidation of the wine.
Ray
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