1. Wine Science Forum
Oxygen and wine Quality
Stéphane Vidal

2. Nomacorc Overview
Global leading supplier of high performance closures for still wine-2.3 Billion closures and 13% market share
HQ in North Carolina with manufacturing in the USA, Belgium, China and Argentina
Products based on low density co-extruded foam
Embracing oxygen management as the primary closure performance criteria influencing wine quality
Development of new sustainable closures with Select Bio

3. History of O2 Management at Nomacorc
Co-extrusion enables production of closures with consistent and controllable oxygen transfer rates
Early studies indicated closures with different OTR’s resulted in wines of variable quality
Desire to further knowledge and understanding on how OTR influenced wine development
Research confirmed the importance of oxygen management
Industry investigations suggest a need for improved control throughout wine making

4. O2 Management Strategy 1st GEN 2nd GEN 3rd GEN
1999
2004
2005
2006
2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
Classic
Smart
Light
Premium
Classic+
Smart+
Value
Select Series
Select Bio
1999
2004
2005
2006
2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
Global Research Programs
NomaSense Analyzer 1st Generation nd Gen

5. Post-Bottling Control
REDUCTION
OXIDATION
Wine Evolution

6. O2 Management & Wine Faults
O2 Management Faults
London International Wine Challenge (5 yr – Average)

7. O2 Management & Wine Consistency
Wine Number
30 Top Selling Wines in US 2009
Source: Wines & Vines, May 2012, p.57

8. To go further Aims Assess BtB by chemical analyses
Characterize possible factors responsible for BtB
Evaluate sensory implications
What we did
25 white wines purchased at major retail outlets in France
Price range 4-7 €; only 2011 wines
10 bottles/wine
Chemical analyses and sensory difference test

9. SO2 data 10 wines with a maximum variation greater than 4 mg/L
7 wines btw 4-7 mg/L
1 wine 8.5 mg/L
2 wines >10 mg/L
40%
12%

10. SO2 data by closure SC
1+1
Natural
Colmated
Microagglo
Nomacorc
Inj. molded
Others
Natural and injected molded worst performing in terms of SO2 consistency
Nomacorc and microagglo best performing
Colmated showed no extreme variations, but was consistently average

11. Closure Technology
Bottle to Bottle
Variation?

12. Filling levels
A 1405
A 1409
Bottle with larger HS also had lower SO2 , but overall HS volume not correlated with SO2 : combination of bad fill level+bad inerting with maybe closure effect too 18
16,4 16 14 12 10
8,8 8 6
3,9 4
2,7 2
Fill level inconsistency also observed in other cases, but with negligible impact on SO2

13. Capillarity?
A 404
A 403
A 407 18 16 14 12 10 8 6
4,1 4
3,3
2,5
2,4
1,6 2
0,9
1,4
Diam 3
Random migration of wine into the closure was observed, possibly indicating inconsistent closure structure. Impact of this on FSO2 was minor, but wines were found to be sensorially different

14. And with Screw Caps? 14

15. How to reveal micro-leakage?

16. Typical DO pick-up during bottling

17. Sensory study
Wines exhibiting max-min FSO2 differences greater than 4 mg/L were submitted to duo-trio test
The bottles with the min and the max FSO2 level were selected for the test
Internal Oxygen Management Research Center in Nimes (France)

18. Sensory variations
6 of the wines found different (24% of total wines)

19. Consumers can pick tiny differences
Bouchon et apport d’oxygène
SO2 libre (mg/L)
SO2 total (mg/L)
A 420
A 520
A 620
Select 100 (+1.5 mg d’O2)
6.87
64.56
0.1628
0.1305
0.0199
Select 300 (+2.7 mg d’O2)
3.91
49.45
0.2041
0.1677
0.0221

20. The objective of today
“Share wine research findings relating to oxygen management and suggest practical solutions for improving control and wine quality”
Must Preparation
Maturation (barrel aging, micro-oxygenation)
Bottling (TPO) & Bottle Aging (OTR)
Degree of Oxygen Exposure

21. Two Distinct Situations

22. Total Oxygen Pick-up

23. Validated technology

24. Luminescence technology
Validation of non-invasive measurement of Total Package Oxygen
Emission of blue light directed on the sensor
Sensor excitation
Emission of red light captured by optical fiber

25. Sensors

26. Flexibility of measurements
1. In the tank
Use of dipping probe
DO measurement
Inerting performance check
3. At bottling
TPO quality control
Inerting performance
Filling heads consistency
Corking heads consistency
2. During the process
Use of sight glasses
DO measurement
Inerting performance check

27. Mapping the Process & Defining Strategies

28. Winemaking Process Steps where we want to control oxygen
Steps where we want to avoid oxygen

29. Control Procedures in Winemaking

30. Control Procedures During Aging

31. Bottling Control Procedures
To get closure benefits we need to master bottling
Dissolved Oxygen
Head Space Oxygen
Total Package Oxygen
Total Consumed Oxygen

32. Post-Bottling Control Procedures

33. Conclusion
Lots of defects linked to non controlled oxygen pick-up during bottling and post-bottling
Technical solutions to better control critical steps exist:
Measuring to continuously audit production
Technical solutions exist…
But they need to be monitored and evaluated
Real potential for improvement of wine quality

34. Wine Science Forum OXYGEN AND WINE QUALITY
“Oxygen and its influence on wine aroma development”
“Understanding Oxygen Demand in Red Wines”
“Oxygen during conditioning
and
bottling”
Dr. Maurizio Ugliano
Enological Research Manager, Nomacorc
Prof. Dr. Dominik Durner
Professor Enology
Neustadt Wine Campus
DLR Rheinpfalz
Prof. Dr. Rainer Jung
Stellvertretender Institutsleiter
Geisenheim University

35. THANK YOU
Nomacorc is a leading supplier of high performance still wine closures. We are on a pace this year to sell roughly 2.4 billion closures making us the second largest supplier in the industry next to a certain Portuguese company which will remain nameless. In the US, we have enjoyed tremendous success with our market share based on total wines produced now approach 40%. For our customers in the room, thank you for your business. It’s nice we have an opportunity to give back a little by hosting events such as this. We are a North Carolina Company and from there we ship to wine regions around the globe. But we do have manufacturing sites in Belgium, China and now Argentina servicing regional markets. All our products are based on a proprietary process known as Co-extrusion. It’s a continuous process resulting in products having a core of low density foam and a flexible outer skin. Together these features result in products having very consistent preservation performance while guarding against leakage which can occur due to bottling line damage. As you might have gathered, we have embraced oxygen management as an essential factor governing closure performance as it relates to wine development after bottling. That’s not to say that cork taint is no longer important. Clearly it’s still a major concern. However, there are proven alternatives to natural cork for addressing it. In the case of oxygen management, however, the bar is raised significantly, and as a field of science it’s at its infancy.