Micro-oxidation, or micro-ox, is a winemaking tool that has seen more than its share of controversy. It's a barrel alternative that winemakers have been increasingly reaching for to address issues of cost and sustainability. Some think that it's a brilliant tool, and others think that its clinical precision has the potential to ruin the art of winemaking for good.
History
One of the most fascinating things about the process of micro-oxidation is the humility of its inception. Instead of being born in a university research lab or a corporate development center, it was invented in the field. A winemaker named Patrick Ducournau, working in the tiny hamlet of Madiran, was struggling with an extremely tannic grape called "tannat." In order to smooth the tannins, he experimented with ways to apply oxygen to the wine in a precisely controllable manner. Micro-oxygenation was born.
Significance
Tannins are compounds that plants have evolved to protect themselves against bacteria and fungi. In grapes, tannins are located in the seeds and stems. Because tannins constrict the mucous membranes, they have an astringent effect on the mouth. More tannins in the wine result in a sharper constriction, making a wine taste harsh. Wines that come in contact with oxygen taste softer, rounder and richer because the oxygen polymerizes ("softens") the tannins.
Function
Put simply, micro-oxidation utilizes a machine to introduce oxygen into fermenting wine. The machine directs oxygen from a tank and delivers measured doses of the gas into the wine. The micro-ox delivers the oxygen through an object called a "sparge stone," a porous ceramic plate that disperses bubbles of oxygen in a super-fine, easily dissolvable manner. The tiny bubbles discharge quickly into the liquid of the wine this way, making for an efficient, precise reaction.
Effects
The micro-oxygenation machine is a large device with two chambers and a set of valves that interconnect with an oxygen tank. The first chamber calibrates the oxygen precisely to the amount of wine to be micro-oxidized. The second chamber injects the wine through the sparge stone at the chamber floor. Generally, winemakers treat the wine multiple times; depending on the wine, it can be treated just a couple of times in the very early stages or treated for several months over the course of maturation.
Benefits
Micro-oxidation is meant to duplicate the effects that a long, slow period of barrel maturation naturally has on maturing wine--but faster, and without the high cost that comes with the traditional methods. Barrels expose wine to oxygen quite gently and in very limited quantities, since the gas seeps through the wood to come in contact with the liquid inside. Micro-oxygenation simply "lab-creates" this process. Micro-oxidation also gives the winemaker more precise control over aeration, allowing him to "dial in" oxygen as opposed to simply observing what natural processes are taking hold on the barrels.
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