Chile: International O2inWines™ Conference on Oxygen Management a Success - Attendees explored the latest advances in oxygen control Santiago, Chile, (January 9, 2009) – The second oxygen management conference organized by the O2inWines™ association which took place in Chile on the 9th of January, drew an audience of almost 200 wine specialists. Prominent oenologists, world-renowned wine producers and highly-regarded researchers, most from Chile, gathered in Santiago to learn about the latest findings in measurement, impact and management of oxygen throughout the various stages of wine production. 
"We took a bit of a risk in organizing this conference in the period of summer holidays in South America”, stated Olav Aagaard from Nomacorc and president of O2inWines™. “But in spite of that, the conference was a tremendous success, which shows that South Americans truly understand and value the importance of managing oxygen in their wines.”
The research that was presented at the conference demonstrated that, although oxygen management is a complex research subject, much progress is being made. The aim of the conference and, ultimately, of the O2inWines™ association is to support research on oxygen’s impact on wine and communicate its results internationally, with the ultimate goal of facilitating broader use of research results and technological advances in winemaking.
"The success of this conference shows how much the research on oxygen management is now globalised and how important it is to bring it together in a symposium like this one", stated Elena Carretero of Vinnova (Chile). "It also is a clear example that by having academic researchers and companies working together and sharing their knowledge we can provide the appropriate tools to winemakers with which they can better manage oxygen in wines," she said.
The whole-day conference was divided in two sessions with a total of 11 presentations. Almost half of the speakers were well-known Chilean researchers. The other speakers were either eminent academic researchers from all over the world or researchers associated with the companies Lallemand, Nomacorc and G3 Enterprises, all founding members of the O2inWines™ association.
The first session (Measuring Oxygen and its Impact) started with a general presentation by Felipe Laurie from the University of Talca (Chile) on the role of oxygen in wines. He introduced some of the current knowledge regarding the dissolution of oxygen in wine, amounts of oxygen attained, and the reactivity of oxygen during wine production and ageing. He demonstrated that whereas extensive oxygen exposure might be the cause of serious defects, moderate oxygenation could benefit a wide range of wines; therefore managing oxygen is critical in wine production and preservation.
Stéphane Vidal from Nomacorc (Belgium) presented an overview of the methods used to measure oxygen. He showed that in order to assess the impact of oxygen on a wine, you need an analytical tool which is capable of measuring total oxygen package which is the sum of dissolved oxygen and oxygen present in the headspace of a wine container. Likewise, he demonstrated that total oxygen package is a better metric to predict impact on several oenological parameters such as Free and Total SO2 or color. Jim Peck from G3 Enterprises (USA) demonstrated that closures can contribute to improve wine preservation. Hence, be able to accurately measuring closure’s Oxygen Transfer Rate is essential to guarantee the global quality of wines and to predict shelf life.
Additional research projects on the topic of measurement of the impact of oxygen were presented:
The second session of the conference shifted the focus to managing the impact of oxygen in winemaking.
Andrew Waterhouse of UC Davis (USA) presented his research on oxidation mechanisms and more specifically on the initial reaction steps in the oxidation process. He demonstrated that a better understanding of these initial oxidation steps will provide useful insight into how to better control wine oxidation.
Antonio Ferreira from the Universidade Catolica Portuguesa of Porto (Portugal) talked about managing the aromatic profile of wines. He presented his team’s research on wine aroma development via oxidation in white and port wine. Compounds such as sotolon, phenylacetaldehyde and methional were found to correlate with the level of dissolved oxygen. In white wine they lead to a reduction in perceived quality, but in port wine they lead to an improvement in perceived quality, which illustrates that oxygen ingress needs to be managed to achieve the desired level of quality based on the end application.
Alvaro Peña-Neira from the Universidad de Chile presented his research on managing color and taste development. He notably focused on micro-oxygenation techniques to improve wine quality. Furthermore, he highlighted the fact that the right amount of oxygen is critical for the wine maturation process.
Jean-Marie Sablayrolles from INRA Montpellier (France) presented his research which was done in close collaboration with Lallemand. He explained the role of oxygen in the fermentation process. He highlighted the fact that oxygen deficiency during fermentation can lead to stuck or sluggish fermentations. He illustrated the need for oxygen management, the importance of oxygen additions during alcoholic fermentation, and how these additions can lead to different fermentation kinetics depending on the yeast’s oxygen requirement.
Evelyn Evdokia Dimkou from the Forschungsanstalt Geisenheim (Germany) presented Rainer Jung’s team research on managing bottling. Ms Dimkou explained that the bottling process has an influence on the quantity of both dissolved oxygen as headspace oxygen in the bottle and demonstrating how to obtain the optimal shelf life of wines through best bottling conditions. She explained her own research on head space treatment (by adding different levels of oxygen) and how this also has an influence on the end product.
And finally Gerard Casaubon of Centro de Aromas, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile concluded with presenting a method to understand oxygen’s influence for the aroma and taste development of commercial wines and how it influences consumers’ preference.
This conference provided a unique platform for academic and industry researchers to share their latest findings with an engaged and relevant audience. Its success demonstrated that knowledge is actively sought after by the wine world.
“Because O2inWines™ involves innovation leaders from academia and industry, the members can collaborate to promote effective solutions to oxygen management challenges,” said Didier Théodore, Business Support Manager, Lallemand. “This will ultimately assist winemakers in improving the quality and consistency of their wines by perfecting the control of oxygen at every stage in the winemaking process.”
O2inWines™ intends to continue serving as a forum for academia and industry to come together by hosting additional conferences. The next conference will take place in California in the first quarter of 2010.
Presentations from the first international O2inWines™ conference on Oxygen Management are available on the O2inWines™ website: www.o2inwines.org.
About O2inWines™
O2inWines™ is an international nonprofit association created by industrial and academic leaders in the wine industry. It is composed of suppliers and service providers to the wine industry, all leading innovators in their fields and heavily involved in researching oxygen management. World-renowned researchers underscore the quality of the research programs facilitated by the association. The objective of the association is the promotion of scientifically based solutions for oxygen management challenges in the wine industry. O2inWines™ is based in Toulouse, France. For more information, visit www.O2inWines.org.
For more information or to obtain photos of the conference, please contact Marjolaine Roblette Geres +33 (0) 6 26 31 79 04 press@O2inWines.org
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