Received for review December 16, 2004. Revised manuscript received June 14, 2005. Accepted June 17, 2005. We thank Amorim France (Eysines, France) and ANRT [Association Nationale pour la Recherche Technologique (Paris) Cifre Grant 097/2004] for their financial support of this research.

Abstract:

Oxygen is one of the most important factors determining the aging potential of bottled wine, and oxygen diffusion into bottled wine is extremely dependent on the sealing effectiveness of the closure. A nondestructive colorimetric method was developed to measure oxygen diffusion from 1 to 9.8 mg/L during the postbottling period. This method was used to study oxygen diffusion through different closures available on the market. After 365 days of horizontal storage, only the control bottle was impermeable to atmospheric oxygen; all other closures exhibited variable rates of oxygen diffusion, which were much greater in the first month than in the following months. It was shown that the rate of diffusion was clearly influenced by the type of closure material used.

Keywords: Indigo carmine; sodium dithionite; oxygen diffusion; closures; bottles

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